Charlton Athletic 1-0 Sheffield United: Nine-Man Blades Battled Hard Despite Narrow Loss | OneFootball

Sheffield United suffered a 1-0 defeat away at Charlton Athletic despite putting on a strong display with just nine men.

The Blades were reduced to ten men when Djibril Soumare went in high and late for a loose ball in midfield, and the ref didn’t wait long to pull out his red card. Just before half-time, Japhet Tanganga went up for a header with a Charlton player, and the referee deemed the United captain to have purposely flung his arms into the home player’s head, resulting in another red card.

Minutes into the second half and Charlton got their goal when a towering header fell perfectly for Sonny Carey who rifled his volley underneath a helpless Michael Cooper.

Lineups

Charlton: Kaminski, Ramsay, Gillesphey, Jones, Leaburn (Godden 90), Anderson, Kelman (Dykes HT), Rankin-Costello, Bree (Campbell HT), Knibbs (Carey 39), Clarke.

Unused: Mannion, Coventry, Berry, Apter, Burke.

Blades: Cooper, Tanganga, McCallum, Arblaster (Hamer 68), Bindon (Burrows HT), Cannon (Mee 45), O’Hare (Peck 45), Brooks, Soumare, Seriki, Bamford (Campbell 68).

Unused: A. Davies, Ings, Hoever, T. Davies.

First Half

LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 17: Karoy Anderson of Charlton Athletic battles for possession with Femi Seriki of Sheffield United during the Sky Bet Championship match between Charlton Athletic and Sheffield United at The Valley on January 17, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by James Fearn/Getty Images)

United made a blistering start and could have been ahead inside the opening minutes. Patrick Bamford went down in the box when well placed to shoot, but referee Oliver Langford waved away strong penalty appeals.

Bamford was quickly involved again as United continued to press high. Andre Brooks won the ball in a dangerous area and fed Callum O’Hare, who slipped a neat pass into Bamford, but the striker’s effort was well saved by Thomas Kaminski.

United’s pressure showed no sign of easing. On 15 minutes, O’Hare again unlocked the defence with a perfectly weighted pass to send Tom Cannon through on goal, but Kaminski stood firm, spreading himself to block the forward’s low shot with his feet.

The chances kept coming for the visitors. Tyler Bindon met Sam McCallum’s corner with a firm header that drifted just wide, before Brooks found Femi Seriki down the right. His low cross flashed across the six-yard box, but Kaminski gathered at the second attempt with several United shirts queuing up for what looked a simple tap-in.

The complexion of the game changed dramatically midway through the half. Soumaré caught Knibbs late on the ankle and Langford showed little hesitation in producing a red card, the first of what would prove to be a strange afternoon.

Matters worsened for United deep into first-half stoppage time when Tanganga was also dismissed, leaving the visitors to regroup with just nine men.

Second Half

Charlton introduced new signing Lyndon Dykes at the break, and he made an immediate impact. With his first touch for the club, Dykes nodded Gillesphey’s ball down into the path of Sonny Carey, who smashed an emphatic volley past Cooper to give the hosts the lead.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, United continued to carry a threat. Brooks delivered a teasing centre that almost found Bamford, but it was Charlton who forced the next save as substitute Tyreece Campbell’s deflected low effort was kept out by Cooper.

Late on, Leaburn threatened to break clear, but McCallum recovered well, doing just enough to force a weak finish that Cooper gathered comfortably.