Blades start in style
By Paul Higham. Last Updated: January 1, 1970 1:00am
Sheffield United made a winning start to the new Championship season with a 4-1 victory over Leicester at Bramall Lane.
Leicester had the better of the first half but fell behind through an Andy Gray penalty, but David Connolly restored parity five minutes after the break.
The game was evenly balanced until the closing ten minutes, as Steve Kabba dispatched another penalty for 2-1 on 81 minutes.
Paul Ifill marked an industrious debut with a goal on 84 minutes and Leigh Bromby added a fourth for what was an unfair scoreline on Leicester.
Craig Levein's men started well in South Yorkshire and it was largely against the run of play that The Blades took the lead after Rab Douglas clattered Ifill inside the box when he should have done much better.
Gray stepped up and coolly converted from the spot to give Neil Warnock's men an undeserved lead at half time.
The Foxes grabbed a deserved leveller when Connolly twisted inside the box before deceiving Paddy Kenny with a low shot inside his near post.
Referee Lee Mason then made the decisive impact on the game when he again pointed to the spot nine minutes from time, penalising Nils Eric Johansson for handball.
Substitute Kabba dispatched the spot kick with consummate ease, and the goal changed the game as United bagged late goals to put a gloss on the scoreline for the hosts.
Ifill marked his debut by heading in a great cross from fellow debutant Keith Gillespie in the 84th minute, and Bromby deflected in a lucky fourth to kick off the campaign in fine fashion for the hosts.
Click on link below for match summary:
Sheff Utd 4-1 Leicester
Matches
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npower Championship
Table
npower Championship
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barnsley | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Birmingham City | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Blackburn Rovers | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Blackpool | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Bolton Wanderers | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Bournemouth | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Brighton and Hove Albion | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Burnley | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Charlton Athletic | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Derby County | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Doncaster Rovers | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Huddersfield Town | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Ipswich Town | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Leeds United | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Leicester City | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Middlesbrough | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Millwall | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Nottingham Forest | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Queens Park Rangers | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Reading | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Sheffield Wednesday | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Watford | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Wigan Athletic | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Yeovil Town | 0 | 0 |
Keith Gillespie
Andy Gray
Paul Ifill
Leigh Bromby
Steve Kabba
David Connolly
