Sheffield United: What pleased the boss the most during the win over Millwall
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But when he completes his review of yesterday’s game, something else will feature prominently in the debriefing notes the 44-year-old will present to Bramall Lane’s first team squad before preparations for this week’s visits to West Bromwich Albion and Middlesbrough begin in earnest.
“We are always looking to try and get on the front foot and play,” Heckingbottom said, after watching United kick-start their new season with a 2-0 win. “We want to be the ones forcing the issue and I think we did that really well out there.
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Hide Ad“The goals were important. That should really go without saying.
“When I look back, though, what really pleased me the most was how we dealt with their biggest threats. How we worked not only with the ball, but without it too.”
United began the campaign with a 1-0 defeat at Watford; a match which saw Emmanuel Dennis and Ismaila Sarr exploit Anel Ahmedhodzic’s absence through suspension, which forced them to deploy the left-footed Ciaran Clark as a right sided centre-half. With the Bosnia and Herzegovina international finally eligible for selection, and impressing on his debut following a summer move from Malmo, United looked much more balanced than they had at Vicarage Road. They demonstrated greater ruthlessness too, seizing upon two first half mistakes by Millwall to score through Ndiaye and Berge before being awarded a penalty via Rhian Brewster during the closing stages of the first-half.
Although Oliver Norwood’s attempt was saved and Gary Rowett’s men improved after the break, the Londoners never appeared likely to claw back United’s lead. Or, barring one scramble just before the final whistle, exploit their prowess from dead ball situations. Only Stoke City, Cardiff City and Huddersfield Town, who reached the play-off final, bettered Millwall’s expected goal ratio from set-pieces last term.
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Hide Ad“The win is great and so is the clean sheet,” Heckingbottom said. “We had more round pegs in round holes. The outside centre-halves (Ahmedhodzic and Clark) were great and so was John (Egan) in the middle, dealing with their threats.”