City Reserves 4 Sheffield United Reserves 1
Posted on: Wed 19 Aug 2009
An opener from on-trial Yanna Kermorgant, a strike by defender Tom Parkes and a DJ Campbell double gave City Reserves a convincing win over their Bramall Lane counterparts in the totesport.com Cup group game at the Walkers Stadium tonight.
City had the game finished as a contest by the break, grabbing the initiative right away, Campbell having a shot saved in the opening moments and indeed City grabbed the opener in only the 6th minute, Campbell bursting down the right for a cut-back turned home clinically by Kermorgant.
It was a great start for City but they had to make a change when midfielder Robert Burns was led off with an arm injury, Ben Milnes replacing him.
City then stretched their lead in the 19th minute when a Gradel corner from the left landed perfectly at the feet of defender Parkes who blasted the ball home in the heart of the area.
It was all one way and a cross from left back Ibrahima Faye saw a Kermorgant header well saved. Moments later, an Ashley Chambers effort was cleared off the line before, in the 31st minute, Campbell turned the ball home from close range after superb trickery from Gradel, working his way in from the left.
Just before the break, it was a fourth for the home side, a superb through pass from Kermorgant sending Cambell clear for his second of the night.
That is how it stood at the interval and for the second half Levi Porter replaced Cambell.
City almost picked up where they left off as, early in the half, Chambers got through only to send his shot wide and then came an ominous sign as the visitors hit the woodwork.
Indeed, in the 68th minute they did score, Liban Abdi shooting home but it proved only a consolation, the visitors ending with ten men, ex-City loanee Lee Hendrie coming off injured when they had already used all their substitutes to complete a sorry night for them.
City Reserves: Cisak; O'Neill, Rowe-Turner, Parkes, Faye, Chambers, Burns, Ajdarevic, Gradel, Campbell, Kermorgant. Subs: Sappleton, Ambrusics, Porter (46 for Campbell), Milnes (17 for Burns), C King (66 for Kermorgant).
Sheffield United: Haber, Brown, Fortune, James, Roe, Abdi, Fotheringham, Hendrie, Carney, Foster, Carole. Subs: Ahmadi (77 for Carole), Billard, Maguire (61 for Fortune), Chappell, Williams (58 for Foster).
Referee: D Drysdale.