Sheffield United 1 Hull 1: Halford's finally showing his worth for Blades

16 February 2009 03:52
Greg Halford may be a great footballing all-rounder but it will take more than the bloodied heroics that earned United a replay to convince manager Kevin Blackwell to sign him permanently in the summer.[LNB]The Sunderland[LNB]reject can play full back, midfielder or striker but reverted to central defence to replace the stricken Chris Morgan, having headed the home side into a seventh-minute lead playing up front.[LNB]And the 24-year-old was inspirational as United stood firm against th Premier League side, who threw everything they could at him following Kamil Zayatte's 34th-minute equaliser.[LNB] Halford's heroics: Sheffield United striker Greg Halford celebrates opening the scoring at Bramall Lane[LNB]But when asked if he was keen to secure Halford on a permanent deal, Blackwell at first joked: 'Perhaps if he's available for a couple of bob,' and then insisted: 'I'd need to see a few more performances like that.'[LNB]But he added: 'There's nothing the lad can't do and that includes playing in goal. But he's daft as a brush and sometimes he needs a kick up the backside to get him concentrating.[LNB]'At other times you have to put an arm around his shoulder and there are some occasions when he has to be taken down a peg because he knows he's bigger, quicker and better than most other players and can get a bit arrogant.'[LNB] Sheffield United 1 Hull 1: How the game unfolded [LNB]Derby 1 Man Utd 4[LNB]Everton 3 Aston Villa 1[LNB]West Ham 1 Middlesbrough 1[LNB]Blackburn 2 Coventry 2[LNB]Swansea 1 Fulham 1[LNB]FA Cup quarter final draw: Big three separated as Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal await replay fate[LNB]To Hull (Oldham) and back: I keep having fun...even at 40 [LNB]HULL CITY FC NEWS FROM ACROSS THE WEB[LNB][LNB] Sliding in: Hull's Kamil Zayatte challenges Gary Naysmith for the ball in the FA Cup fifth round clash[LNB]Little wonder, if this is a true picture, that Halford fell foul of a pragmatist like Steve Coppell after a £2.5million move from Colchester to Reading or that he and Roy Keane 'didn't really hit it off' after switching to Sunderland.[LNB]'Greg's confidence had taken a bit of a battering when we brought him here because he hadn't fulfilled his potential,' said Blackwell.[LNB]'We've given him another chance and this performance suggests the penny is starting to drop.'[LNB] HAVE YOUR SAY: HOW ARE YOUR FA CUP UNSUNG HEROES - Post your comments in the box below...Halford, sporting stitches in a gashed brow after a clash of heads with Zayatte, was in no doubt that United would have won but for the knee ligament injury that could put Morgan out for the rest of the season.[LNB]'Hull's[LNB]equaliser came just as Chris was being carried off and we were trying to sort things out at the back,' he explained.[LNB]Phil Brown's mood remained buoyant despite the fact that a replay lumbers his Hull side with a testing run of three games in six days at a time when a run of one win in 16 League games is making the prospect of relegation a growing concern.[LNB] Doing it all again: Blades boss Kevin Blackwelland Phil Brown can both look forward to a replay at Hull's KC Stadium[LNB]'Fixture build-up is what happens when you make a bit of a name for yourself and I'm confident we've got a deep enough squad to cope', said Brown. [LNB]'That doesn't mean chucking a load of reserves in for the replay.'[LNB]MATCH FACTS[LNB]SHEFFIELD UNITED (4-4-2): Kenny 6; Jihai 5 (Naughton, 60min, 6), Morgan 5 (Webber, 31, 6), Kilgallon 7, Naysmith 5; Cotterill 8, Montgomery 6, Quinn 6, Hendrie 7 (Howard, 73, 5); Halford 8, Sharp 6.[LNB]HULL CITY (4-4-2): Myhill 6; Ricketts 6, Turner 7, Gardner 7, Dawson 6; Mendy 5 (France, 88), Marney 7, Zayatte 7, Garcia 6 (Manucho, 79); Geovanni 4 (Barmby, 73. 5), Folan 7. Booked: Mendy, Turner, Garcia.[LNB]Referee: Andre Marriner.[LNB]Man of the match: Cotterill.[LNB]HAVE YOUR SAY: HOW ARE YOUR FA CUP UNSUNG HEROES - Post your comments in the box below...[LNB] Sheffield United 1 Hull 1: How the game unfolded [LNB]Derby 1 Man Utd 4[LNB]Everton 3 Aston Villa 1[LNB]West Ham 1 Middlesbrough 1[LNB]Blackburn 2 Coventry 2[LNB]Swansea 1 Fulham 1[LNB]FA Cup quarter final draw: Big three separated as Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal await replay fate[LNB]To Hull (Oldham) and back: I keep having fun...even at 40 [LNB]HULL CITY FC NEWS FROM ACROSS THE WEB[LNB] [LNB] [LNB]  

Source: Daily_Mail