That football is full of illogical contradictions is on display in games like the one that took place on Sunday in Sheffield. It is a strange irony that a team that proudly appealed to his fight was swept away in such a shameful way, a victim of his poor state of mind. The embarrassing 0-8 in which Newcastle won at Barrall Lane happened against all logical predictions, because of the difficulty of visiting the South Yorkshire city’s stadium, and because the ‘blades’, where the industrial spirit is nested from Sheffield, the so-called ‘iron city’, always used to subject their rivals to brutality and suffering until the end. But not this time, in the middle of an afternoon full of sadness.
The dark atmosphere was felt deeply in the stands, when at the start of the match an emotional tribute was paid to the club’s player. Maddy Cusack died on Thursday at the age of 27. With the club’s flag over the main stand flying at half-mast, a respectful minute’s silence filled the stadium with apathy. All Sheffield United players took to the field wearing the number 8 shirt and surname Cusack on his back, and relatives appeared, including Sophie Barker, the captain of the women’s team and the club’s former player Tony Currie to leave wreaths of flowers on the lawn.
A bad day for football, and so much emotion to end a dreadful afternoon awaits the ‘blades’, powerless to react as Newcastle’s goals tumble. This time they will not be able to appeal to their tradition of not giving up even in the face of the impossible, as the youngsters who have grown up in Sheffield United’s academy have been taught. The batting suffered and the club’s very difficult week led to an unexpected slump.
The match turned into a drama for the lowly ‘blades’, recently promoted, who would end up losing mercilessly. But such is sport when the ambition of a superior team meets the physical and emotional limits of another. It’s all very bleak for Sheffield United given the size of the blow Newcastle have received, even allowing them to reserve two of their stars, Tonal and Isaac. From the start, the Magpies will be as easy to shine as ever and seal a result with very few precedents. Eight different scorers, a trio of assists from Kieran Trippier, and Newcastle’s biggest win in 24 years.
Records fell at Bramall Lane as it was also the biggest home defeat in ‘blades’ history. What a sad day and week, which moved the local coach, Paul Heckingbottom, the promotion manager, to relativize the loss: “You can’t feel sorry for yourself, we can’t help it. There were tears on the field, and it was a very difficult week for everyone.”
When Manchester United lost 7-0 last year at Anfield, there was nothing either Ten Hags He found words to justify that debacle, other than the lack of professionalism of his players. The public’s anger in Sheffield is therefore logical, as they directed their anger at Newcastle’s goal celebrations, throwing water bottles. There will be penalties for the club, and the resentment experienced at Bramall Lane will remain, as will the pain of seeing themselves already bottom of the Premier League.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
