Sheffield United v Sheffield Wednesday
Feb. 24th, 2026 01:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rifleman_lincolnSteel City Derby day in Sheffield last Sunday and the Blades completed a ‘double’ as we beat our city rivals for the second time this season. In doing so, we also confirmed that Sheffield Wednesday would be relegated to League One and, although it’s been clear for some time that that would be the case, United being the side to officially relegate them made it a bit sad.
It was a beautiful sunny day and I was able to shed at least three of my winter layers (!), although I wouldn’t have gone so far as some supporters, who were in shorts and t-shirts! (And the usual display from the Sheffield Wednesday supporter known as “Tango”, who always attends matches bare-chested, regardless of weather or temperature! I’ve included a small picture of him right at the end of this summary – as we won’t be seeing him for quite a while! – but beware, it’s not a very edifying spectacle).
They were a very poor team, though, I have to say and the game threatened to be a very one-sided contest, and in fact it’s now 8 games and 14 years since Wednesday beat United in a competitive fixture. I did feel for their players, though – it must be very dispiriting to play in such circumstances, and I do hope they’ll find a way through their current troubles.
Anyway, on to the match, which saw Callum O’Hare and Patrick Bamford back in the side, while Wednesday gave a debut to their seventh different goalkeeper this season, Seny Dieng, on loan from Middlesbrough. There were red & white fireworks before the match and an attendance of over 30,000 so a cracking atmosphere.
The Blades took the lead after 90 seconds! A poor clearance from Wednesday’s Joel Ndala, who inexplicably played it straight to Gus Hamer, saw him thread a clever pass into the path of Patrick Bamford who steadied himself and finished clinically to send Bramall Lane delirious!
The Blades dominated the game after that and although Wednesday did win a corner, the Blades were able to steer the ball away.
The second goal arrived on 19 minutes, after a lovely Sydie Peck cross played in Harrison Burrows who hit with the outside of his left boot, completely surprising Dieng at the near post . . . and United were in dreamland!
The rest of the first half saw the Blades moving the ball about, just because they could and there were loud cheers as they jogged off at the whistle.
The second half, however . . . well, it began in disastrous fashion for the Blades who went from being in complete control into a real contest. First, a tackle by Kalvin Phillips saw him catch Svante Ingelsson high on his follow-up and the referee deemed it reckless and sent him off. (I’m a bit worried about our discipline this season – we’ve now had 5 red cards in 7 matches, which is ridiculous).
To compound this disaster, Wednesday were able to halve the goal deficit after a ball from the left dropped to Charlie McNeil who hit a low, precise finish past Michael Cooper, sending the Wednesday fans wild as they could finally celebrate an ‘away’ goal.
So the game had completely turned now and the Blades started to lose their shape and control, but despite Wednesday’s renewed vigour and pressure, they didn’t manage to test Michael Cooper.
With still half an hour to play, Chris Wilder made some good substitutions to give the Blades back control and shore up the left hand side where Phillips had left a gap and the game became a bit more even, despite having only 10 men.
As the game entered the final ten minutes, though, things evened up a bit at Wednesday’s Gabriel Otegbayo was given a second yellow card, converting to a red and was sent off for having hauled Tyrese Campbell back on a possible goalscoring run. So now 10 v 10.
There were seven minutes of stoppage time, but the Blades managed to hold out, with fans and players alike celebrating the victory.
It was very much a “game of two halves”, but overall the Blades had the most chances and, albeit playing a very weak side, deserved the win. It showed the best and the worst of the Blades, I thought – swashbuckling one moment, making silly decisions the next. However it’s a positive win and a Derby Win, too!
Below is a picture of “Tango” and some of his mates looking a bit despondent!
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Date: 2026-02-24 05:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-02-25 12:26 pm (UTC)That's very true; but on the other hand, Lincoln City look as if they might gain promotion to the Championship at the end of this season, so that'll be one "away" match I won't have to travel to! Swings and roundabouts ... :)
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Date: 2026-02-24 09:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-02-25 12:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-02-26 10:54 pm (UTC)But good points for them and a double derby win.
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Date: 2026-02-27 12:46 pm (UTC)Still, a win's a win! And a sweet Derby Day win!