Wilder dismisses talk of huge ‘fortune’ after Sheff Utd’s first win of season

Steve Bruce Chris Wilder TEAMtalk

A delighted and relieved Chris Wilder said Sheffield United were worthy of their 1-0 win over Newcastle United on Tuesday evening.

The Blades notched their first win of the Premier League season thanks to a controversial penalty.

Newcastle had been reduced to ten men in the first half after Ryan Fraser was handed his second yellow card.

The hosts then won a penalty after VAR adjudged Federico Fernandez to have handled in the area amid pressure from Billy Sharp.

Speaking to BBC Sport after the game, Wilder explained how he felt after going 186 days without a win.

“I have been counting!” he said. “Every minute of every hour of every day! It feels good, I’m delighted.

“We should have got more results, we know that, but the performance was good.

“We played with the identity that has been the way we have played for the last few years. I should imagine the sending off and the penalty will be talked about but in my opinion we were value for the victory tonight.”

The 53-year-old waved away claims that the win was a lucky one.

“Everybody needs a bit of luck,” he added. “But it wasn’t an outrageous stroke of fortune. The performance was good, considering the position we are in.

“We’ve had a load of tight games and we’ll take it. I was looking for my car keys and to take up another sport if we’d thrown it away in added time…

“I might have a glass in my own bubble tonight.”


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A monkey off the back

Billy Sharp TEAMtalk

Sheffield United finally claimed their first three points of the league campaign in an entertaining encounter.

Both sides had their chances in the first half, the hosts creating them more frequently even before Fraser’s dismissal.

Despite their dominance, they almost lost it right at the death when Jayden Bogle’s chested ball back towards his goalkeeper almost ended up in his own net.

Luckily for him, the ball was hooked away just in time meaning Sharp’s 100th goal for the club turned out to be a crucial one.

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