Looking up

Photo: PICTURE by ALAN HOWARTH

HAPPY FACES: a jubilant Chris Taylor climbs on to the back of penalty hero Shefki Kuqi at Bramall Lane.

Taylor eyes lift-off after amazing fightback
CHRIS Taylor displayed impressive powers of recovery of his own in helping Athletic to a superb comeback victory at Bramall Lane.

The 25-year-old only resumed training on the day before the game, having suffered from a stomach bug which ruled him out of the midweek draw with Colchester.

But despite ongoing hunger pangs, Taylor turned in an excellent, energetic and highly effective performance on the way to helping the visitors dramatically turn a two-goal deficit into a 3-2, last-gasp win over nine-man Sheffield United.

With a home game against Scunthorpe coming up tomorrow, club officials will now hope for a renewed take-up of ‘Golden Tickets’ from fans as Athletic bid to push up the npower League One table.

“We are disappointed with where we are in the division, but that is in the past now,” said Taylor, in his seventh season of senior football at Boundary Park.

“After this, we are 13th in the table and we will look to push up as high as we can.

“I didn't see the game on Tuesday (against Colchester), but if that had been a win, which I heard the lads deserved, then it would be even better.

“Sheffield United are second in the league and have aspirations to be in the Championship. They have got some very good players, but we matched them for most of the game.

“There are a lot of Saturday-Tuesday games coming up over the next six weeks, so if we put a run of wins together then you never know.”

The exciting contest hinged on a crazy second-half spell in which Athletic stormed back to net two goals, either side of a red card being shown to Blades defender Matthew Lowton. The first of his pair of yellow cards came after tussling with Taylor following the first goal for Paul Dickov’s side.

There was little doubt, either, about the injury-time penalty awarded to Athletic. The incident saw Harry Maguire follow Lowton down the tunnel, before Shefki Kuqi slotted home a match-winning spot-kick.

Reece Brown produced a solid debut at the base of midfield, after his loan deal was sealed on Friday teatime.

The Manchester United player, who can operate in a number of positions, will remain at Boundary Park for an initial month.

Robbie Simpson missed the Sheffield United game as a result of a broken toe he sustained during the 1-1 draw with Colchester. The striker sees a specialist this week.