Kieffer Moore: The Playoff Secret Weapon | OneFootball

For all their young players and new additions, Sheffield United have become something of a blast from the past.

With a 4-4-2 that Mike Bassett would be proud of, the Blades have modified expertly to get back on track.

The key secret weapon to this new, old-timey success is Kieffer Moore. The Welsh striker, head and shoulders above the rest, in the literal sense.

Let’s look at how Kieffer Moore has turned around at the perfect time for the Blades.

Good but in need of Moore help

To understand how effective Moore is now in a front-two, we have to acknowledge his season before.

The Welsh forward has made 29 league appearances for the Blades this season. With a contribution of five goals. Not bad given an average of a goal in just less than every six games. Although nothing to write home about.

Much of the early criticism of Moore came due to his lack of mobility compared to strikers like Tyrese Campbell. With Campbell’s raw energy giving the Blades counter-attacking 4-2-3-1 it’s clinical edge.

Unfortunately, for Moore his maiden Blades season was also halted by injury. With the 32-year-old requiring surgery for a hernia. Despite this, Kieffer Moore played through the injury up until the surgery. A sacrifice that helped the team and provides context to some of his perceived mobility issues.

Whilst, he returned in March, the two games in April against Burnley and Stoke City unlocked the best Moore. His performance at the Bet365 showing how effective a 4-4-2 could be for the Blades.  With Moore earning a third best rating in the side according to FotMob.

With his next two performances against Bristol City hopefully proving to any doubters that sometimes players just need the right system. And have we found the one for Moore.

152 minutes of Moore promise

Kieffer Moore in the playoffs will be studied by footballing philosophers for some time to come. You can enjoy tiki-taka, gegenpressing and all the robotic brilliance of modern football as much as you want. But. You cannot beat a tall striker knocking the ball down.

At Ashton Gate, Kieffer Moore was unplayable from the Bristol City players’ perspectives. He was heading almost everything that came his way. He was the perfect outlet during the tight spells of the first leg. Plus, he may be in Rob Dickie’s nightmares for weeks to come.

Stats at Ashton Gate

Kieffer Moore won 69% of his aerial duels against Bristol City away winning nine aerial duels. As well as a decent three ground duels won. The combination of which saw him win the most duels of any player on the pitch.

His physical presence saw him fouled once, but what an important foul it was. The goal that came broke the deadlock, broke the first leg and broke the Robins’ resolve. He was constantly working their defenders completing five recoveries.

His effect on the first leg made even more impressive by being the outfield player with the least touches with just 33.

Back at the Lane

(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

One of the Blades’ most annoying traits in the regular season was inconsistency. Last night, the Blades were consistent as though the two legs were one continuous 180 minutes. With Kieffer Moore, one of the main player’s picking up where he left off.

An early pass for Tom Cannon almost got the Blades in front as one of Moore’s two chances created. Across the 62 minutes he played, Moore managed a pass accuracy of 61%.

Again, Moore was the King of the Duels winning seven aerially and four on the ground finishing with the most duels won of any player for a second time.

All his hard work paid off with the most important thing for a striker. A 41st minute goal unsurprisingly from a corner and finished with a header. A well deserved goal from the difference maker whose playoff form drove the team to victory and a turnaround of fortunes.

Takeaways

In football some players, especially new signings, can come under pressure if performances aren’t immediate. With Kieffer Moore, the club’s new number nine feeling the brunt of early critiques.

In a game of opinions and differing opinions, Moore’s early form was always likely to split the terraces. But, there can be no doubt, we are now seeing the Kieffer Moore we thought we had signed. Sure, the system now fits Moore and that has helped him be more effective.

But he deserves a lot of credit for not shying away from the occasion. Not letting his injury difficulties get to him and using his experience and attributes to become the key asset of Wilder’s 4-4-2. He will now certainly be one of the first names on the Wembley team sheet.