Reading 1-3 Sheffield United

The Blades bounce back in Berkshire

United bounced back from last weekend’s 0-4 humbling by Birmingham City with an impressive 3-1 win at Reading for their first away win of the campaign. It was a commendable performance and result considering that Reading started the day above United in the table, and that the team remain without their manager Jonathan Morgan following the agreement for him to step down from his role while an independent investigation takes place into his alleged conduct and behaviour following a formal complaint.

Despite last week’s defeat, the Blades kept faith with the shape from recent games and made just a single change with Jess Sigsworth starting in attack and Ella Kinzett dropping out. Bex Rayner played more centrally ahead of Sophie Barker and Alanta Brown, with Ash Hodson joining Sigsworth and Izzy Goodwin in attack.

There was one tweak in defence, where Charlotte Newsham and Tara Bourne swapped sides in the centre. I’d previously misidentified Newsham as left-footed when in fact she favours her right, but if this put Bourne on an unfavoured side then she didn’t show it and put in a superb showing. 

Overall, this was a really good response from United against a team who were in the WSL last season (Reading have since switched to a part-time playing model as part of a cost-cutting measure at the club). The Blades moved the ball with purpose, with a lot of neat one-touch play through the middle, and a front three that rotated well with one dropping off and the other staying high.

United also defended set-pieces far better than in recent weeks, which was handy given that Reading won a couple of corners in the first few minutes. They even defended this novel set-up quite nicely:

I think this is legal. Multiple Reading players lined up off the pitch in a formation more common to rugby lineouts as the corner taker readied herself, before making arcing runs back into play. Pretty neat and not something I think I’ve ever seen in the men’s or women’s game beforehand. Despite that, United cleared their lines well.

At the other end, Sigsworth setup Barker for a shot from the edge of the box, before a nice linkup between Hodson and Goodwin saw the latter win a freekick on the edge of the box. Bourne took it and smacked the post with the keeper stranded.

At the other end, Fran Stenson made an excellent stretching save following a lovely move by Reading, who pinged one out wide to Lauren Wade. Wade cut inside onto her left foot and forced Stenson to push a 20-yarder over the bar. A few minutes later she tested Stenson again with a scuffed volley; the Blades’ keeper got down well.

United took the lead on 33 minutes when Hodson read a defender’s intentions and picked off a loose backpass forty yards from goal. She still had plenty to do as keeper Emily Orman forced her wide, but she took it round her and finished superbly from the far side of the box. United saw out the rest of the first half without any real danger.

Ash Hodson gives United the lead against Reading.

Reading seemed determined to keep possession and draw United onto them as the second half began, with a lot of conservative passing around the back. This, though, ended up being a disaster for the home team, with Goodwin seemingly growing bored with the slow approach and simply brushing the Royals’ right-back off the ball 30 yards from goal. The Blades striker dribbled into the box and clipped one beautifully past Orman and into the far corner.

That was Goodwin’s fifth goal in her last five games, and also the first time United had gone 2-0 up in a game this season. 

Minutes later Hutton fired over after an excellent outside-of-the-boot pass from Barker, and Reading continued to struggle with United having so many bodies inside their half. Bourne and Alanta Brown kept combining to get the ball out of defence and into attack, with Sigsworth and Goodwin constantly looking to run in behind.

The game began to get scrappy, although Reading made some changes and almost got one back immediately, as the Royals combined well on the edge of the box and fired in a low shot that Stenson got down well to parry with Alanta Brown mopping up. The ensuing corner caused problems but the Blades got a body in the way to block a shot from the penalty spot.

At the other end, a mazy run by Barker won a freekick just outside the D; Hutton went to place it into the top corner but put it a yard wide. Hutton’s corner was then almost turned in at the far post by Goodwin, but the Reading defender did just enough to knock her off balance and the keeper claimed.

Sigsworth won another corner shortly after and United bagged a game-sealing third via an excellent bit of football. Hutton’s inswinger was cleared out to her, and she turned it back to Rachel Brown who played a superb disguised pass back into Hutton’s feet. The Blades’ left-back sent in a dipping cross to the far post where Bourne outmuscled her marker and diverted the ball across the six-yard box for a simple tap-in for Newsham. It was lovely incisive play from United, one of their better moves of the season so far.

Reading kept pushing and United freshened things up with some subs: Sigsworth’s first league start of the season came to an end as Sophie Haywood came on, before Molly Graham replaced Rachel Brown, Barker was withdrawn for Ella Kinzett, Fallon Connolly-Jackson came on for Hutton and Tamara Wilcock for Rayner.

Stenson made another good save at the near post, although Reading did manage to force home a consolation when she could only parry a one-on-one and Tia Primmer knocked in on the line. That, though, was the last meaningful action of an excellent away win.

Perhaps most encouragingly, this was one of Goodwin’s quieter games of the season (even allowing for her customary goal) and the Blades still found a way to get the job done quite comfortably. United leapfrog Reading in the table, up to 8th in the Women’s Championship – with a trip to 2nd-place Southampton coming after the next international break.

Player spotlight: Fran Stenson

Speaking of international breaks, congrats to Tara Bourne on her latest England U23 call-up, along with Fallon Connolly-Jackson who started in Scotland U19s defeat to Iceland yesterday in their European qualifier.

I want to close out this newsletter by talking about another player who received international recognition this week, as keeper Fran Stenson was a late addition to the England U23 squad after Everton’s Emily Ramsey pulled out with injury.

22-year-old Stenson was on loan at the Blades from Arsenal for the second half of last season before signing permanently from the Gunners in the summer, and she’s been excellent so far this campaign. I wanted to single her out for some focus anyway (I decided a 4-0 defeat last week might not have been the right time to do it) so this call-up seems like the perfect time.

She had another good game last weekend at Reading, with a couple of standout saves. Overall, her shot-stopping has been very good all season, but it’s her reading of the game I want to spotlight. From what I’ve seen of Stenson, she has a command of her penalty area – particularly on the ground – that’s far above that of most other keepers at this level.

Where I see a lot of keepers (even in WSL) leave through-balls for their defenders to deal with, Stenson takes a much more active approach – with a lot of success. Here’s a good example from this weekend’s game against Reading, as the Royals play a good ball in behind Hutton for their forward to chase:

This pass, played from near the halfway line, is heading wide of the box – so Stenson knows early that using her hands is not a possibility. Nonetheless, thanks to her high starting position (in this screenshot she has just made her decision and started her sprint), she’s able to zip out, intercept the pass ahead of the striker, and clear safely into touch.

I’ve seen her do this time and again this season, shutting off chances for the opposition before they can fully develop. Added to her shot-stopping (I’m struggling to think of a goal we’ve conceded this season that was even close to being “her fault”), it’s made her a reliable keeper who can be a difference-maker in the close games that United have generally played out so far this year.

It’s fair to acknowledge that her aggressive patrolling doesn’t always work – in the below example, the ball was probably slightly too wide for her to realistically deal with, and she ends up stranded and indebted to her defenders – but I appreciate the approach and it’s great to see her be the next-player-up for the U23s.

And finally

A couple of quick notes to finish off this week: 20-year-old keeper Eleanor Heeps signed last week on a short-term loan from Spurs following an injury to backup keeper Bethan Davies. She’ll be with the Blades squad until January, although hopefully Davies’ injury is not too serious.

And finally, the Cusack family have set up a JustGiving campaign with the intention of creating a foundation in Maddy’s honour. Her sister, Olivia announced the campaign, saying:

Maddy’s love for football started at an early age and grew stronger as she became a professional footballer. Maddy inspired many young girls through her career and we hope to continue her legacy by supporting other young, inspiring footballers by making a difference within women’s football. 

The campaign is aiming to raise £10,000 and is almost halfway there already – if you would like to donate and spread the word, I encourage you to do so.