An early goal can be the catalyst for a high-tempo contest but this was anything but. Wimbledon were strangely subdued, while Blackburn, sophisticated and diligent in midfield, lacked the firepower to add to Sutton’s early strike.
Colin Hendry and his Swiss central defensive partner Stephane Henchoz stood up to Wimbledon’s usual aerial assault, which by the end saw all four of their 6ft-plus strikers in imposing unison. Indeed, both sides suffer from too many worthy labourers who rarely inspire but infrequently look in long- term danger – perhaps Graham was serious after all.. Chris Sutton’s 10th goal of the season after only six minutes proved the difference between two sides whose contrasting styles cancelled each other out to such an extent that this became a staggeringly sterile occasion. In any case, Leeds were also in constant search of breakaways which Rod Wallace’s pace always made threatening, so McAllister was torn in his responsibilities.The division of labour overall being equal, the outcome became more and more predictable. The result here was that Coventry’s initial approach to the second half was like opening a new book.Roland Nilsson suddenly started to break through on the right edge, leading to Dion Dublin sliding a shot wide when the goal was more or less an open target, and the busy little substitute Andrew Ducros madeprogress against defenders who largely dwarfed him.With Dublin generally ineffective at the head of their attack, Coventry needed to reinforce their hopes by releasing Gary McAllister from midfield, but Leeds usually spotted his attempts to get forward before he reached dangerous areas. The latter’s subtle skills gradually became submerged in a very British midfield tangle that saw the referee collecting names and contained shuddering collisions, one of which ended the game for Coventry’s Michael O’Neill.Leeds profited most from the ragged competitiveness, as they should considering the depleted make-up of the Coventry side for whom injuries and suspensions had left half a dozen players unavailable, but there is a lack of weight and power about their attack that too often costs them possession.

He ably pushed a massive drive from David Hopkin over the bar and immediately did the same from David Wetherall’s header following the corner.Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink had already rattled the Coventry crossbar with a header after clever construction work by the Portuguese Bruno Ribeiro. Graham has always been a master of tactical forethought against teams more talented than his own.
Much of Coventry’s defiance against the odds over the past 14 years has been because of the large presence in goal of Steve Ogrizovic, who yesterday set a club record of 488 appearances and proved that at 40 he is as agile as ever. Defeating Manchester United certainly helped Arsenal but yesterday at Highfield Road there was little to refute Graham’s views on his own team’s limitations. The knives that were out for Graham had been hastily returned to their sheaths after last weekend’s pacifying win over United, but they remain sharp and ready In a way, beating United was not such a huge surprise. A Few weeks ago George Graham delved into his considerable gift for making mischief and said, no problem, Arsenal, his old club, would be champions. More seriously, he admitted that Leeds were a long haul from championship material.

Blondeau, who missed this game through suspension, stopped short yesterday of likening Sheffield to Rouen or Pleat to Mario Zagalo, but insisted he was as happy with his new surroundings as his Italian team- mates seemed yesterday.. Carbone scored from the spot.Everton’s spirits picked up when Cadamarteri slid home Barmby’s pass by way of an immediate counter-blow and, in a breathless finale, no one was more relieved than Pleat to see Di Canio put the result beyond doubt. Played through by David Hirst, the Italian turned one way and the other to leave Andy Hinchcliffe in a heap before flicking the ball past Gerrard.Earlier, as if worrying about his own future was not enough, Pleat had called a press conference, in the company of the club chairman Dave Richards and the defender Patrick Blondeau, following reports that the pounds 1.8m French international was anxious to leave Hillsborough.Quotes had been attributed to the former Monaco player in which he regretted moving to “a dark, industrial city” and to a team where “tactically, nothing made sense”, adding that “if it continues I will lose all my footballing skills”. The substitute crossed to the near post and Carbone nipped in front of everyone to nod home.Two minutes later, Di Canio found his legs entangled in Paul Gerrard’s arms in the Everton penalty area and the invitation to go over was irresistible. Everton brought on Nick Barmby to liven up matters in the second half and, after an hour, despite a bad miss by Cadamarteri, the visitors were on top, with only Kevin Pressman’s reflexes keeping the game level.Against expectations, however, it was Everton who were caught napping when Di Canio sent Lee Briscoe away on an overlapping run along the left.

Mistakes abounded, chances were rare, although Wednesday had a marvellous opportunity after 35 minutes when Wayne Collins embarrassed himself by shooting into the Everton fans at the Leppings Lane end with only Paul Gerrard to beat.The quick feet of John Oster and Danny Cadamarteri, two of three Everton teenagers, worried Wednesday’s suspect defence, which was still lacking Peter Atherton and Jon Newsome from Pleat’s long list of injured players. Danny Cadamarteri replied for Everton, but Paolo di Canio made sure it was Pleat’s in the closing seconds.
Until then, the fare had been as one could imagine at this level, a meeting of two sides with mediocrity in common. With Everton poised to sneak off with the points, Benito Carbone headed Wednesday in front with 11 minutes left and added a second from the spot two minutes later. After 79 goalless minutes of tedium mixed with high anxiety, a burst of late goalscoring achieved the victory for Sheffield Wednesday that will ease the pressure on their manager David Pleat, who had begun to count his days in the job after only one previous win this season. On an afternoon that began with Pleat obliged to talk down stories of an unsettled Frenchman in his side’s midst, the manager ended by praising the talents of two Italians, whose late goals turned a match that had been slipping away from him.

The first of them, he swatted down casually from beneath his crossbar with one hand. It summed up an afternoon on which United had not needed to extend or exert themselves.. If it had been 0-0 at half-time the second half would have had a different complexion. United had an extra gear, but if one of those chances had gone in they might have got the jitters.”Instead, United stirred themselves almost to claim a third from the best move of the match; Beckham sweeping the ball to Giggs and Scholes’s shot thudding off Kevin Miller’s chest.Schmeichel had to deal with free kicks on the target from Dean Gordon and Itzik Zohar before the end. “I tried to dummy him and he did well, and the second time he made a good save.”Steve Coppell, reflecting on his return to Old Trafford, said: “We needed one of those one-on-one’s to go in and then it could have been interesting.