Stand and deliver

STOOP TO CONQUER . . . Danny Philliskirk gets down low to nod home at the far post and give Athletic an early lead. ALL PICTURES: Alan Howarth

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Athletic 1, Sheffield United 1

IT stood for months on end as a symbol of Athletic's apparent inertia on and off the pitch.

“Is that stand finished yet?” was the question most asked by journalists ringing the Chronicle office to discuss upcoming games. “Not yet, no,” was the continual reply.

While from a main stand vantage point you could no longer keep an eye on your car in the rutted car park beyond it, the edifice acted on match days mainly as a trap for hoofed clearances that once flew out of the stadium and off towards Broadway.

When the project was first announced in February 2013, it followed the collapse of the disastrous Failsworth plan. Athletic were in a relegation scrap and Tony Philliskirk was temporarily in charge.

Four managers and 32 months later, Athletic are 21st in the same division they have occupied for the last 19 seasons. Even the hopes of the most battle-hardened fan are drawn from a depleted well. And still, only three sides to the ground were open for business.

No wonder David Dunn spoke of a burden being lifted on Saturday. Make no mistake: those involved in getting the North Stand open for this game worked extremely hard to do so. The developers were as frustrated as anyone else as a variety of obstacles were thrown in the way.

The last game played in front of a populated stand on that side of the ground was in 2008.Seven years later, Athletic's home felt comfortable again as the turnstiles clicked open at 1.45pm. Fans walked in with smiles on their faces. After the full-time whistle blew, they walked out again... with smiles on their faces.

Athletic were at times excellent against difficult opponents and it is impossible to escape the feeling that the players responded to the bubble of new optimism.

Jonathan Burn's red card (he gave referee Kevin Wright no option over a second booking) gave Athletic plenty to do to hold on to a point with 30 minutes to go.

At that stage, former Blade Danny Philliskirk's early header had given Athletic a lead that was cancelled out by a beautiful Matt Done goal against the run of play.

Dunn's side, producing some delightfully crisp moves in a first half in which attacking fulcrum Carl Winchester shone, rocked a little and should have gone behind when Billy Sharp contrived to slice wide when it appeared easier to score. Stefan Scougall also spurned a golden chance to make it 2-1 to the visitors, hitting a post.

The football gods clearly liked what they had seen by then, with the ground buzzing and Athletic effervescent and united in the opening 45 minutes. Dunn opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation, with width provided by adventurous full-back duo Cameron Dummigan and Daniel Lafferty.

Jay Fulton shielded the back four with Liam Kelly – who was everywhere – with Winchester in a free role behind Dominic Poleon.

It worked. Athletic were determined and focused from the off and though the lead was slightly down to fortune – ex-Athletic star Jose Baxter, in a deep-lying role for Nigel Adkins' side, flicked on a Mike Jones corner perfectly for Philliskirk to convert – the home team was the superior side.

Winchester almost made it 2-0 with a shot on the turn which travelled just over the top and Jones fired wide, before Done's well-placed shot dipped over David Cornell and into the top left corner of his goal.

Poleon forced two sharp saves from Mark Howard in the first half. A free header from a Winchester cross was pushed out low to his right after 40 minutes and soon after, excellent forward play saw the ex-Blades loan man twist and fire in a powerful effort Howard was equal to.

Out-thought and out-fought, the visitors responded in the second half. After Cornell saved on the line from Neil Collins after a scramble, United should have taken the lead in the 57th minute when Done was sent clear on goal by the lively Che Adams. His shot passed a foot wide.

There was a sense that Burn's red card, for a tug on Sharp, was due. Booked for a late lunge in the first half, he was stomping all over a tightrope and there were few complaints over the second yellow card as Sharp turned him and was tugged back.

Timothee Dieng and Ricardo Fuller came on and Athletic switched to three at the back.

Sharp and Scougall failed to make their opportunities count, somehow, and in the end Adkins' men took to punting the ball forward early in frustration.

Athletic rode their luck, but nobody was short-changed. New stand open, the players delivered.