MD12: Charlton Athletic 3-0 Sheffield United
Charlton keep the pressure on at the top of the table as former Blade Charlotte Newsham opens the scoring
A difficult game got even trickier for United as they not only revealed the absence of Jade Bailey with an injury but then saw skipper Satara Murray withdrawn from the starting lineup just before kick-off. Shorn of two physical players from the spine of the team, this was always going to be an uphill task at the Valley.
It was a more competitive game than the scoreline and some of the stats suggest, with Charlton creating and finishing a couple of big chances and that being the difference between the sides. I’m aware that’s how football works, but it wasn’t a total stroll in the south-east London downpour for the home side, at least until it went to 3-0. That said, it was clear to see some of the individual talent advantages that Charlton enjoy, with Karin Muya and Ellie Brazil impressive in attack and Kiera Skeels running things from centreback.
The Blades brought in a fourth signing of the window last week, with defender Esther Morgan penning a contract until the end of the season. Morgan has been with SPL side Hearts this season and is a Wales international, and was immediately elevated from bench to starting lineup with Murray’s withdrawal.
Morgan started at right wingback with Olivia Page moving into the centre and Leanne Cowan dropping back the right side of the back three. In midfield, Ella Kinzett returned, replacing Bailey:
It was a solid enough debut from Morgan, who was involved in United’s possession and tidy if unspectacular on the ball. It was notable that she was comfortable enough switching to the left of midfield in the second half as the Blades moved to a back four once Charlton went 2-0 up.
For Charlton, former Blades Jodie Hutton and Charlotte Newsham both started – the latter despite her spectacular one-handed save in last week’s game (apologies for bringing this up again, but it really is something). In one of those Football God Knife Twists, Newsham scored the opening goal in this game. Hutton also had a hand in the second goal that pushed the game out of United’s reach.
Let me try and manifest something with Hutton first, who I maintain is one of the most undervalued players in this league due to her set-piece delivery. There’s something about the way she hits these that teams just find incredibly difficult to deal with: she really drives the ball like a golfer off the tee, but with just the right amount of late dip to cause real issues. Sofascore has her in the top 20 for chances created per game, which is a little drop off from where she was last season with United, but still. The Blades are the only side without a player in the top 50.
Anyway, Hutton is 23, and an above-average athlete at this level. She signed a one-year deal with Charlton last summer. United, you’ve got an Isobel Goodwin-sized transfer fee burning a hole in your pocket. Please make sure the first call Hutton’s agent answers this summer is from you.
Back to Newsham, who made it 1-0 after United had started pretty brightly. Olivia Page was beaten very easily by Emma Bissell from Elisha N’Dow’s long pass, and although Rogers made a super close-range save the ball ballooned up into the six yard box. Quite what right-back Newsham – who Blades fans will remember playing centre-back with minimal attacking output last season – was doing arriving in that same six yard box is a mystery, but she slid home the opener.
United were inches away from an equaliser a few moments later, as a scramble from a freekick broke to Kinzett, who fired just wide on her left foot. Not an easy chance, but the synchronised head-in-hands from her teammates showed just how close she’d come to levelling it up..
After an even 30 minutes or so, Charlton started to exert themselves a bit and Rogers was forced to tip over a fierce shot from Muya. A Hutton missile was headed wide from the resulting corner, and then the former Blades left back fizzed another cross untouched through the six yard box following a neat backheel on the edge of the United penalty area.
But any hopes of taking the game to the hosts out of half-time were immediately dashed after the restart: Hutton’s high freekick found Brazil, with Rogers tipping her initial effort onto the bar before messy defending allowed the Charlton striker to tap home the rebound.
United made the switch to a back four around this point – the goal came so soon after half-time it was hard to tell if it was a change at the actual interval, or in response to going 2-0 down – and Monique Robinson was impressively busy in the centre, having one of her better games for the Blades. Maddy Earl also came on for her debut, with the Arsenal loanee replacing Jacqui Hand, and showed some neat control and movement in the final 20 minutes. It’s hard to read too much into that, though, as Charlton went 3-0 ahead almost as soon as she entered the field, as this time Katie Bradley swung in a freekick that brushed off Issy Hobson’s head and in.
That meant that both United’s men’s and women’s teams had lost 3-0 in the same weekend, with the third goal provided by OG in both games. If I was a sicko I’d be a teeny bit pleased at the symmetry, but, well.
A hard game against a side in the mix for promotion – hopefully United will have Murray and Bailey available again for our next opponent.
Durham (H), Sunday February 2nd, 13:00 kick-off
When Durham beat United 2-1 on the opening day of the season, I thought it was probably a case of the Blades being caught cold after their lack of summer preparation, by a team of similar ability levels. Instead, Durham have been arguably the success story of the Women’s Championship this season, keeping pace at the top of the league despite the (presumably) bigger budgets of those around them.
They won a very tetchy game at the Lane last season, and do tend to have quite a vocal (as in, mouthy. Bit unkind? Passionate) support, so I’m anticipating another potentially spiky one here.
Beth Hepple is, as usual, one to watch: 4th in the league for chances created per game, and with three goals of her own (one penalty). Mollie Lambert is another who has given United problems in the recent past, although we’re hardly alone there – she has five goals already from midfield and is a brilliantly energetic player. The return of Jade Bailey would be a big help here.
That being said, the advanced stats are not hugely kind to Durham, with footystats tracking them as having the fourth-worst attack by expected goals, and the joint-second-worst defence – level with your very own Sheffield United.
Notably, they are set to play in the FA Cup tonight, all the way down in Brighton – with the game moved back 24 hours due to the adverse weather. It won’t have been an ideal week’s prep for Sunday. There’s a chance here for United to cause a relative upset – I’m looking forward to seeing how we get on.
Thanks as always for reading, back next week.
