Sheffield United: Hammond and Blades so close to bridging FA Cup gap at Theatre of Dreams

Football can be so, so cruel at times. Just ask Dean Hammond and Sheffield United.

More than 360 international caps, 47 places in the English football pyramid and a wealth of talent and resources separated United and their namesakes from Manchester before kick-off at Old Trafford on Saturday.

The Blades salute the 8,500 travelling fans

But by the end, only Wayne Rooney’s late, late penalty - emphatically finished in the 93rd minute in front of the Stretford End - came between them.

Backed by a brilliant, boisterous and booming 8,500-strong travelling support from over the Pennines, Nigel Adkins’ side defended stoically throughout and it was the manner of defeat which seemed particularly harsh on them.

If there is no bad way to win a football game, there are certainly awful ways to lose them and, as Rooney slammed home, to a mixture of joy and relief from the home support, it was hard to shake the feeling that this was one of the worst.

Especially for Hammond.

Blades supporters at Old Trafford

The midfielder, on loan from Leicester City, had marshaled United’s back four expertly throughout alongside Chris Basham and, moments before the goal, had produced a simply stunning block to deny substitute Jesse Lingard a certain winner.

But he turned villain when he rashly dived in on Memphis Depay, after the £20 million winger had beaten John Brayford in the United box.

Adkins afterwards mused that Hammond could have stayed on his feet, but absolved his man of any blame.

Against a League One winger, Hammond likely wins that challenge more often than not. Against a top, tricky player, that split-second makes all the difference and cost United dear. A replay at Bramall Lane, in front of a full house, would have been an interesting proposition.

They deserved it, too. Admittedly, this game wasn’t one for the neutrals - one wonders if BT Sport regret their choice of scheduling - but United got an early taste of what they were up against when Fellaini nutmegged Basham and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson wiped out Paul Coutts on the wing.

But a first half which promised so much ultimately delivered, well, very little.

As the skies over Old Trafford opened, Louis van Gaal’s side closed up and the Blades grew in confidence as the half progressed.

The away fans goaded Rooney with chants comparing him to Billy Sharp - not altogether favourably, either - but it was the England captain who went closest to easing the growing discontent around this famous arena.

First, he shot comfortably over when well placed; then found the angle just too narrow when United’s George Long had come out but failed to conquer.

In the build-up to this game, skipper Jay McEveley insisted the Blades would feel more pressure in tomorrow’s game against Wigan and, on the first-half showing, they’ll face more of a test too.

The second continued in a similar vein, a glorified attack-v-defence training exercise heavily dominated by the latter.

Van Gaal’s experiment, with Juan Mata on the right, failed to pay off - his side were more toothless toddlers than wingless wonders - and the introduction of Lingard and Depay tipped the balance in their favour. For the first time, the Blades looked stretched.

Lingard, up against makeshift left-back Martyn Woolford after McEveley went off injured, threatened down the right and was denied spectacularly by Hammond.

Back came the hosts again, with David Edgar and Neill Collins repelling almost everything. When a ball did break in the box, to Martial, Brayford threw everything in the way to block from just yards out.

With Sir Alex Ferguson watching intently from the stand which bears his name, the addition of six minutes injury time suggested his spirit lives on. The home side needed only three to finally make the breakthrough. Depay powered past Brayford and invited contact from the sprawling Hammond. Old Trafford held its breath before erupting as Jonathan Moss pointed to the spot.

Celebration and relief from the home end, angst and frustration from the Blades.

If big games can hinge on small events, then Hammond’s challenge was seismic. Rooney sent Long the wrong way from the spot, van Gaal’s stay of execution was extended and ‘Glory, Glory Man United’ bellowed from the stadium speakers as the travelling Blades stood to salute their heroes.

The Blades players returned the applause andwere alos acknowledged by home supporters who knew they’d been in a real battle.

The Reds may go marching on, on, on. But it is the original United who emerged with immense pride and credit to their name.

Excuses, excuses... does Van Gaal really care what Man United fans want?

The Dutchman has presented a number of supposed reasons for the current discontent around Old Trafford, and none of them are convincing anybody.

When Wayne Rooney slammed home the 93rd-minute penalty that sent Manchester United into the fourth round of the FA Cup, many of their fans were already well on their way home after giving up on their side’s sterile performance and heading for an early exit. Manager Louis van Gaal, though, put the early exodous down to a desire to beat the traffic.

The Dutchman takes his team to Newcastle on Tuesday night needing a convincing performance to win over the increasing number of dissenters among the United faithful, yet he spoke on Monday like a man content in the knowledge that everyone is behind him.

Van Gaal admitted after the uninspiring win over Sheffield United on Saturday that his side’s passing was too laboured and one-dimensional, yet in his press conference two days later he came up with further questionable explanations for the struggle to see off the League One side.

He claimed the sight of 74,284 fans watching on at Old Trafford for a third-round tie was an endorsement of him and his side, despite the ironic cheers that could be heard after Memphis Depay supplied United’s first notable attacking piece of play midway through the second half. Van Gaal’s assertion also failed to take into account the fact that season ticket holders are duty-bound to buy FA Cup tickets as part of their financial commitment.

He added that it was due to Sheffield United’s defensive approach rather than the Reds’ stagnant attack that they managed to find the target only once before Rooney’s injury-time winner, insisting it is easier for minnows to defend in numbers than it is for bigger clubs to find spaces up against third-division defences.

For Manchester United fans, who have had to sit through 10 successive goalless opening periods at Old Trafford, the excuses are wearing increasingly thin. Boos have become more frequent of late and, whatever Van Gaal’s claims, Saturday’s mass early exit was a clear reflection of the growing frustration among the United faithful.

And former United star Gordon McQueen says he fully understands the supporters’ disappointments, telling Goal that there’s no way back for Van Gaal in many of the fans’ minds.

“The fans have been unbelievably supportive, but now they are absolutely fed up,” he said.

“They have begun to turn and I don’t see him regaining their trust. They started to turn against him about a month ago and the boos are getting longer and louder.

“The fans are leaving earlier and earlier. Yes, some have always left early to beat the traffic, but Old Trafford has rows and rows of empty seats now before the final whistle and that is down to the performances and not the traffic.”

McQueen joked: “There will be some fans so upset with what they are seeing that they will be running out to get run over by the traffic.”

And after Van Gaal’s insistence on Monday that fans should be happy with victories no matter how they come, McQueen believes the realignment of expectations under the Dutchman is a cause for concern.

“He’s lowering the bar at this club. I don’t know what he is thinking. It baffles me. He’s spent over £250 million on a team that is worse than the one he inherited,” he continued.

“It isn’t good enough for Manchester United just to beat teams like Swansea and Sheffield United, they have to do it convincingly and with some style. He doesn’t seem to understand that.

“Old Trafford has always been an intimidating place for visiting teams with 75,000 fans on their backs. Some teams couldn’t cope and were beaten as soon as they stepped on the pitch.

"It says a lot that United have not scored in the first-half of a game at home since September. Instead of possessing that fear factor, they are the ones playing with fear.”

Perhaps that fear will be less evident when United take the field at St James’ Park on Tuesday night, although the very fact they go into that game looking to bring a three-match away losing streak to an end suggests their issues are not confined to the Theatre of Dreams.

Van Gaal might have you believe that their two narrow victories over Swansea and Sheffield United should be acceptable to Manchester United fans but surely he’s either deluding himself or is showing that he really couldn’t care less what they think.