Preston stun Sheffield United to set up tie against Manchester United
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Version 0 of 1. Half-time team talks do not come much easier than when the prize is a shot at Manchester United. No wonder then that Simon Grayson, the Preston manager, was so keen for his players to know the score from Old Trafford when they gathered in the away dressing room. Trailing at the break to their League One rivals Sheffield United, they produced the kind of spirited comeback that has become the trademark of their opponents to seal a fifth-round tie at Deepdale on 16 February. Three goals in a heady 10-minute spell just after the hour – two dead-ball finishes from Paul Gallagher sandwiching Paul Huntington’s glancing header – sealed a deserved replay victory. “You can’t give up the opportunity to play Manchester United that lightly,” Grayson said. “The players knew they were winning and you don’t get that kind of opportunity very often. So there was still a massive incentive for the players to keep running and chasing.” Related: Manchester United 3-0 Cambridge United | FA Cup fourth round replay match report When the teams emerged at the interval, it appeared that the prawn sandwich brigade would become the latest set of top-flight supporters to get Bramall Lane’s Greasy Chip Butty experience. It has not proved a palatable one for several higher-ranked adversaries but Nigel Clough’s side struggled against third-tier peers who went winless in January. So it is Grayson who will have the opportunity to pit his wits against Louis van Gaal and emulate his most famous managerial hour – he stunned Old Trafford with then League One Leeds five years ago. “It was a fantastic occasion but this is a different football club, a different team,” Grayson said. “Nevertheless these players have worked extremely hard to achieve it and the club probably deserves it because we’ve not had too many ties like it over the years. The profile of the match will lift everybody and the revenue that will come in will help.” Preston were unfortunate to be trailing to Jamie Murphy’s scruffy 38th-minute shot that evaded Thorsten Stuckmann’s grasp during the briefest of purple patches for the home team. Undeterred, the visitors pressed hard for an equaliser and had already been foiled by the combined efforts of United’s goalkeeper, Mark Howard, and defender Bob Harris when the pace of Chris Humphrey finally told. First Humphrey’s surge on the hour was crudely culled on the edge of the area by Harris and Gallagher – on a season-long loan from Leicester – displayed top-level composure to curl in the free-kick. When Humphrey drew another ill-timed challenge, this time from Jay McEveley 17 minutes from time, the Scot buried his penalty low to open up a 3-1 advantage. In between Huntington had ghosted to the near post to glance in a corner. Related: Fulham 1-3 Sunderland | FA Cup fourth-round replay match report Less than a week after taking Tottenham to within a couple of minutes of extra-time in the Capital One Cup semi-final there was a lack of intensity about the hosts. Perhaps it was the pressure of being favourites in a knockout contest for a change, or overconfidence that their record of two defeats in 20 major cup matches under Clough would become two in 21. Even the home crowd, so often the 12th man at Bramall Lane, was off its game, allowing Grayson’s men to complete the late heist. The result was certainly a jolt to Clough, who had rested 10 of his players for the league fixture against the then League One leaders Swindon on Saturday, with Manchester United in mind. “I’m bitterly disappointed,” said Clough, who had set out to take the red and white half of Sheffield to a third consecutive domestic semi-final. “The biggest club in the country coming to town when you’re a League One club is a huge incentive but we didn’t play like that was the carrot at the end of tonight. “Maybe there was a bit of an air that we had done the hard work there. But equally you might say we missed a chance 10 days ago because there were some opportunities. Preston deserved it.” Indeed, they should have been ahead in the 12th minute when Chris Basham’s lackadaisical back header offered Kevin Davies the opportunity to grab his 150th career goal: his measured volley left Howard helpless but cannoned off the upright and along the goalline to safety. Howard was then forced to gather Gallagher’s long-range effort on the quarter-hour and beat out a far-post header from the Preston captain, Tom Clarke, as the visitors overwhelmed opponents who had embarrassed five Premier League teams over the past 13 months. |