Sheffield United v Cardiff City
Apr. 19th, 2025 07:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rifleman_lincolnThe Blades got back to winning ways as they saw off Cardiff at Bramall Lane, though it was a game that lacked real quality. Gus Hamer scored in the first half and Ben Brereton Diaz in the second half – on his birthday!
Thankfully, Manager Chris Wilder did make some changes to the side which lost the last 3 games, utilising Rob Holding, Hamza Choudhury and Tyrese Campbell, as well as including Rhian Brewster. Cardiff are in a bit of relegation trouble at the moment, and the Blades were fighting for points with only 3 games left now until the end of the season.
It had been quite a nice journey over to Sheffield, but just as the game began so did the rain and there was little goalscoring action from either side until 30 minutes when Rhian Brewster tried to cross to Tyrese Campbell but the ball bounced off a couple of Cardiff players; however Gus Hamer was on hand and reacted really well to stab the ball home.
As the second half started, the Blades looked to move the ball forward with a bit more pace, with several different players having shots on goal; unluckily nothing came off until the game approached the final 5 minutes when Keiffer Moore crossed a lovely ball to birthday boy Ben Brereton Diaz who couldn’t miss and smashed home to seal the deal.
Anyway, the 3 points are important but we’re still third in the table. Victories for both Leeds and Burnley means we’re now looking very likely to have to enter the scrum of the play-offs at the end of the season. (Our next match on Monday is . . . at Burnley!).
The match day programme yesterday reminded us that it was just a week shy of 100 years since Sheffield United played against Cardiff City in the FA Cup Final of 1925! This was the Blades’ one and only appearance in the Final, which we won 1-0 thanks to a goal from Fred Tunstall.
The photograph shows the two captains shaking hands before the kick-off at (old) Wembley – the Blades’ skipper on the left is Billy Gillespie and his Cardiff counterpart is Jimmy Blair. (Love the baggy shorts!)
