‘We were just boring’ says Blades’ assistant boss Stuart McCall after cup exit
Sheffield United assistant manager Stuart McCall said he was bored watching his side’s Carabao Cup defeat to League One Lincoln. The Premier League side suffered a 3-2 penalty shoot-out loss at Bramall Lane after a drab 90 minutes ended goalless. Defeat continued a poor start to the season for the Blades, who have lost their opening three Premier League games. They made nine changes for this match, but McCall said none of those players who came in pushed their case. “A poor flat performance has given us a poor result, there’s no getting away from it,” he said. “Credit to Lincoln, they made it difficult to play against, but we never moved the ball quick enough and got into areas we wanted to. “If I’m being honest, we were bored ourselves watching it, we needed more impetus. We didn’t do enough to win the game. It seemed quite flat. “We have to move on to a huge game on Saturday against Everton. “There’s no excuses, the side we put out there should perform better. Take nothing away from Lincoln but we were pretty dull. “We were desperate to win tonight and we put a team out that we believed we could do that. “We were just boring really, we had no thrust. That is not what we want to be at Bramall Lane. Hugely disappointing throughout the night from start to finish. We can’t afford many of them.” Lincoln were worthy of victory, which came after Lukas Jensen saved spot-kicks from Louis Marsh and Benie Traore to send his side through. Boss Mark Kennedy was in philosophical mood after a first victory at Bramall Lane in 40 years. “There’s only two things human beings fear when they’re born, that’s noise, and falling,” he said. “All the other fear some idiot puts in your head. There’s nothing to fear but fear itself. “So go and embrace the moment, go and enjoy the day. “And it’s nights like this that me personally and the players…live for. That’s what you get up for in the morning, win, lose or draw. “You want to get your head out there, stick your chest out and sometimes you win and the rewards are incredible, the highs are high, the lows are so low, but for me that’s what you get up for, that’s what I come to work for every day.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Burnley counting cost of Carabao Cup win over Nottingham Forest Brydon Carse targets red-ball cricket with England after impressing in T20 win Beto and Arnaut Danjuma spare Everton’s blushes in late cup win at Doncaster
2023-08-31 06:21
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Champions League draw to include 14 former winners as PSV Eindhoven beats Rangers in playoffs
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Sauce Gardner voted top cornerback by panel of AP Pro Football Writers
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Justin Jefferson selected top wide receiver by panel of AP Pro Football Writers
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Carabao Cup draw LIVE: Manchester United, Arsenal and more discover third round fate
Defending champions Manchester United will host Crystal Palace in the third round of the Carabao Cup while treble winners Manchester City face a tricky trip to Newcastle. In the three other all-Premier League ties, Brentford host Arsenal, Chelsea take on Brighton and Aston Villa meet Everton, who overcame Doncaster Rovers 2-1 on Wednesday night. The lowest ranked team left in the competition, Sutton United, face a trip to Port Vale. The ties will be played around 25 September. There have already been a few shock results in this year’s competition with Leeds United being dumped out of the tournament by Salford City and Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs losing to Fulham in the second round. Take a look at the full Carabao Cup third-round draw below. Read More Same old Spurs? Ange Postecoglou’s first trophy chance ends in penalty agony
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Joe Burrow, Bengals aim for another Super Bowl run in loaded AFC
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Harper's 300th homer not enough as Angels rally to beat Phillies 10-8 on Drury's homer in 9th
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Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow back at practice for the first time since July 27
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Lamar Jackson has a new offensive coordinator and some flashy new receiving playmakers in Baltimore
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2023-08-31 05:28
Zeki Amdouni strikes late to see Burnley past Nottingham Forest
Zeki Amdouni’s last-minute goal clinched Burnley a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest and sent his side into the third round of the Carabao Cup. The Switzerland forward, signed from Basel in July, stepped off the bench late in the second half and volleyed home from six yards to settle a largely forgettable tie between two Premier League rivals in the Clarets’ favour. There was a minute’s applause before kick off for police officer Sergeant Graham Saville, the uncle of Forest defender Joe Worrall, who has died after being hit by a train last Thursday while trying to save a distressed man on railway tracks. Worrall was suspended following his dismissal in Saturday’s 3-2 Premier League defeat at Manchester United, while Forest boss Steve Cooper made seven changes. Argentina’s World Cup-winner Gonzalo Montiel, on loan from Sevilla, and Brazilian teenager Andrey Santos made their full debuts and Anthony Elanga made his first start for the club. Burnley boss Vincent Kompany made 10 changes from Sunday’s 3-1 home league defeat to Aston Villa, with Aaron Ramsey and Jacob Bruun Larsen making their first starts. Neither side created a chance worthy of note until the 36th minute when Forest midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate blazed over after Chris Wood had intercepted a wayward back-pass. Burnley, who had already lost Brazilian Vitinho to injury in a tepid first half, were forced to replace Ramsey and Hjalmar Ekdal early in the second. Sweden defender Ekdal went down during a goalmouth scramble and needed lengthy treatment before being stretchered off the pitch and replaced by Josh Cullen. Both Forest and Burnley tried to inject some urgency into their play, but Nathan Redmond’s shot veered off to the corner flag and Willy Bolly produced an air-shot with his shooting chance. Forest skipper Ryan Yates lifted the home crowd when he headed Elanga’s cross inches wide. But Amdouni, a 78th-minute replacement for Jay Rodriguez, volleyed home unmarked from Josh Brownhill’s headed flick-on to seal victory for the visitors. Fellow substitute Wilson Odobert had a golden chance to put the tie to bed moments later when he raced through on goal and although goalkeeper Matt Turner blocked his effort, Forest could not muster an equaliser. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Rangers fail to qualify for Champions League after thrashing by PSV Eindhoven Rubiales’ behaviour inappropriate but leave FIFA to investigate – Ceferin Lukas Jensen the hero as Lincoln blunt Blades with shootout victory
2023-08-31 05:27
