Chris Wilder Makes Huge Admission About Sheffield United Player After Win At Preston
Sheffield United continued their impressive winning run with a 3-2 victory over Preston North End at Deepdale on Tuesday night, with Sydie Peck stealing the headlines after scoring a first-half hat-trick.
The Blades recovered from a disastrous opening to claim all three points in Lancashire, producing an impressive attacking display before having to withstand some late pressure from the hosts.
North End made the perfect start and needed just two minutes to break the deadlock. Andrew Hughes did brilliantly to dispossess Tahith Chong before driving forward down the left-hand side. The Welshman then picked out Leroy inside the penalty area, who found himself with plenty of space before unleashing a superb finish to register his first goal for Preston and put Graham Alexander’s side in front.
United looked to respond quickly, with Ben Brereton Diaz coming close moments later. The Chilean international connected with a volley inside the area, but his effort flew narrowly over Dan Iversen’s crossbar.
However, the visitors gradually found their rhythm and drew level shortly before the half-hour mark. Peck delivered a dangerous ball into the Preston penalty area, and the delivery caused considerable problems for the home defence. Iversen was unable to deal with it, allowing the ball to find its way into the net and bring United back on level terms.
The Blades continued to build momentum and completed the turnaround with ten minutes remaining in the first half. Tom Cannon spotted Peck’s forward run and threaded an excellent pass into his path. The midfielder showed composure to take the ball around Iversen before calmly slotting home to give the visitors the lead.
There was still time for United to add a third before the interval. In stoppage time, Burrows produced some excellent work down the left before delivering into the danger area. Romelle Donovan was involved in the move, claiming the assist, as Peck arrived at the far post to turn the ball home and complete a remarkable first-half hat-trick.
The visitors picked up where they left off following the restart, with Chong going close after an impressive individual run, although his eventual effort drifted wide.
The winger then turned provider, creating another opportunity for Peck, but Iversen was on hand to make a good save at his near post and prevent the midfielder from adding a fourth.
With 13 minutes remaining, North End finally found a response. After winning possession high up the pitch, the hosts worked the ball into Devine, who picked out Lang inside the penalty area. Lang made no mistake with the finish to reduce the deficit and set up a nervy closing period.
The goal lifted the home crowd and gave Preston some momentum, but Sheffield United remained composed under pressure to see out the victory and add another three points to their tally.
Chris Wilder’s Verdict on Sheffield United’s Performance
Chris Wilder was pleased with much of what he saw from his side, although the Sheffield United manager admitted he was frustrated by the manner of both goals conceded.
Speaking after the match to SUTV, Wilder was particularly disappointed with the opening two minutes.
He said: “Apart from the first two minutes. We gave them an obvious lift and a leg up with the start. We have to do better in that sort of situation and they’re coming off the back of a disappointing performance and result on Saturday, so we gave them a big lift.
“But I thought how we played tonight was good, we created some good opportunities, controlled the game. Just a bit disappointed just after half time we really never took the game away from the opposition, and it was a poor goal late on for us to concede.
“Then they’ve got nothing to lose, but we saw it out when we didn’t really need to see out because we felt we did enough for 90% of the game.”
Wilder Full of Praise for Sydie Peck After Hat-Trick Heroics
Understandably, much of the post-match attention centred on Peck, whose outstanding performance proved decisive in Lancashire.
The midfielder has increasingly demonstrated his ability to influence games in the final third, and Wilder revealed that encouraging him to make more forward runs and get into the penalty area has been a particular focus.
Wilder said: “His all-round performance was excellent. (We) were talking about playing him higher, putting him in the box and making forward runs. He’s done it right throughout his young career – scored goals – and he needs to score more.
“I spoke to him about Leicester last season, where he got a couple, and he’s got that in his locker. He’s a touch disappointed because he’s had a couple more opportunities in the second half. We got into some great positions.
“(Tahith) Chong should score, Sydie possibly should score, I’m not going to be greedy and say every opportunity we have we should score from but we created enough to take the game away from the opposition. Sydie will get the headlines and rightly so.”
Wilder also made an admission about Peck’s leadership potential, suggesting he could eventually become Sheffield United captain.
“Hopefully one day he will be the captain of this football club,” Wilder explained.
“It was too early in my opinion when he was doing it before I came back. We needed to take that responsibility off of him and make sure he just got his head down and was a good footballer, and tonight he was a good footballer.
“Off the pitch his leadership skills in training, he wants to win and you can see that and it was there in abundance. He plays his football emotionally as well as intelligently.”
The Blades face another away trip at the weekend when they head to Charlton Athletic.
