After the travel chaos which preceded the game perhaps Jay McEveley can be forgiven for the erratic hand gestures at the back-post. Was he hailing a cab? Or stopping a Routemaster? Sheffield United were 18 minutes from a clean sheet in the first leg of this Capital One Cup semi-final, when McEveley challenged Roberto Soldado for a deep cross. First his right-hand went up in a hopeful appeal for offside and then his left hand swung through the line of the ball, clearing it somewhere into the crowd.
Helped by his assistant, referee Neil Swarbrick awarded the penalty and Andros Townsend stepped forward to smash Tottenham into the lead with a confident strike and give them a glimpse of Wembley. That was all that separated the League One team from their Barclays Premier League hosts. Overall, Spurs were probably worth the narrow victory having dominated the game while rarely troubling Sheffield United goalkeeper Mark Howard, but this tie is not over. Nigel Clough’s side proved that they are not short on belief. The game ended with them on the attack in search of an equaliser, and they coped well with pre-match problems which saw the game delayed because United’s team-bus was stuck on the congested streets of north London. Travel issues aside, the South Yorkshire team must have made their way to White Hart Lane in confident mood, having reached the semi-finals of last season’s FA Cup and beaten West Ham and Southampton on the road to the same stage of this competition.
They have not reached a major final since 1936, and Clough has acquired a giant-killing knack. There was no inferiority complex as they opened at a strong tempo, hustling Spurs, refusing to let them settle.In midfield they snapped into tackles and spreading the ball wide and goalkeeper Howard launched it forward with great gusto when given the chance. Jamie Murphy enjoyed early flickers of success against Kyle Walker, Tottenham’s former Sheffield United defender, as the 4,000 visiting fans sang: 'Kyle Walker, he wants us to win'.Michael Doyle lashed one effort over in the chaos of the first 10 minutes, before the Premier League side were able to impose any degree of control.
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