Wimbledon 0-0 Sheffield United
Sunday, 28th October 2000
Nationwide League Division One
Venue: Selhurst Park
Attendance: 7,327
Referee: A. Bates (Stoke-on-Trent)
| WIMBLEDON | 0 (0) |
| SHEFFIELD UNITED | 0 (0) |
| WIMBLEDON | -V- | SHEFFIELD UNITED | ||
| Kelvin Davis | 1 | Simon Tracey | ||
| Alan Kimble | B | 2 | Gus Uhlenbeek | B |
| Darren Holloway | 3 | Shaun Murphy | ||
| John Hartson | 4 | Keith Curle | ||
| Marcus Gayle | 5 | Wayne Quinn | ||
| Trond Anderson | 6 | Nick Montgomery | ||
| Mark Williams | 7 | Paul Devlin | ||
| Damien Francis | 8 | Michael Brown | ||
| Rob Gier | 9 | Bruno Ribeiro | ||
| Jonathan Hunt | 10 | Marcus Bent | ||
| Jon Harley | 11 | David Kelly | ||
| Substitutes | |
| 28mins | Jon Newby for Devlin |
| 70mins | Par Karlsson for Hunt |
| 83mins | Patrick Agyemang (booked) for Hartson |
| 87mins | Georges Santos for Uhlenbeek |
| Unused | ||||
| Andy Roberts | – | Lee Sandford | ||
| Dean Blackwell | – | Kevin Blackwell | ||
| Paul Heald | – | |||
| Managers | ||||
| Terry Burton | – | Neil Warnock | ||
Notes
No notes
Match Report
Tracey’s Clean Sheet Secures Point in Drab Selhurst Stalemate
Simon Tracey kept his 11th clean sheet of the season as Sheffield United ground out a goalless draw against Wimbledon in a lacklustre encounter at Selhurst Park on Saturday.
Despite the return of Welsh striker John Hartson to the Dons’ starting XI after a two-game absence, the hosts lacked attacking bite and rarely troubled Tracey. The veteran keeper’s most notable involvement came after Gus Uhlenbeek’s misplaced back pass allowed Jon Harley to cross for Hartson, whose header was heroically cleared off the line by Keith Curle before Tracey gathered.
Clear chances were scarce throughout. Wimbledon’s best opening came just a minute in, when Hartson stretched to meet Darren Holloway’s cross but sent it harmlessly wide. At the other end, Blades boss Neil Warnock was adamant his side should’ve had a penalty on 13 minutes when Paul Devlin beat keeper Kelvin Davis to a loose ball but was halted before he could shoot. “Dev got there first and was stopped in his tracks,” said Warnock. “It looked a certain penalty to me.”
Devlin’s afternoon was cut short when he sustained a knee injury following a challenge from Alan Kimble on the half-hour mark. He was replaced by Jon Newby, with United losing a key creative spark.
Wimbledon had a brief flurry before the break – Damien Francis wasted a free header, and Hartson powered a header over the bar from a Kimble corner. United responded with their best move of the match: Michael Brown’s tackle released Bruno Ribeiro, whose low shot flashed across goal just beyond Marcus Bent.
Warnock named an unchanged XI from the midweek win over Stockport, giving youngster Nick Montgomery another start in midfield. The only change came on the bench, where assistant manager Kevin Blackwell replaced injured backup keeper Frank Talia. Wimbledon included two ex-Blades: Jonathan Hunt started on the right wing, while substitute goalkeeper Paul Heald was a former trainee at Bramall Lane.
Late substitutions failed to lift the game’s tempo. United’s best late efforts came when David Kelly narrowly missed connecting with an Uhlenbeek cross, and Georges Santos fired a stoppage-time free-kick wide.
Warnock was satisfied with the point: “The conditions probably favoured us more. They only really threatened from set-pieces. Losing Dev early was a blow—he might have won us the game.”
Wimbledon manager Terry Burton was blunt in his assessment: “It was an awful day for football, and both teams played accordingly.”
UP THE BLADES 
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