“We Needed A Reaction, We Got A Reaction” – Wilder Delighted With Sheffield United’s Attitude | OneFootball

Sheffield United produced a determined comeback to secure a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park on Tuesday night.

The Blades found themselves behind during an entertaining first half after Blackburn midfielder Kristi Montgomery opened the scoring with an excellent strike.

After winning possession from Sydie Peck, Montgomery took aim from distance and produced a superb curling finish from just outside the penalty area, sending the ball beyond Michael Cooper and into the top corner to register his first goal for Rovers.

The hosts almost doubled their advantage shortly afterwards when Fevrier released Dapo Afolayan into space down the left. The forward struck first time across goal, but his effort narrowly missed Cooper’s far post.

Blackburn appeared to have found a second with 35 minutes played when Cooper could only parry Afolayan’s fierce effort into the path of Todd Cantwell. The midfielder followed up to fire the rebound into the net, only for the celebrations to be cut short by the assistant referee’s offside flag.

United responded immediately and drew themselves level with a well-worked attacking move. Joe Rothwell won possession in midfield before Peck spotted the run of Tom Cannon and delivered an excellent pass into the space behind the Rovers defence. Cannon showed composure as he advanced into the area before calmly placing his finish beyond Pears.

The equaliser gave the Blades renewed confidence, and they completed the turnaround before the interval. Cannon and Ben Brereton Diaz combined during the build-up, with Rothwell once again instrumental in progressing the attack. The midfielder eventually found Peck, who produced an outstanding first touch to create room for himself before firing a low shot through a crowded penalty area and beyond Pears to put United ahead.

Blackburn came agonisingly close to restoring parity later in the second half.

Ryoya Morishita displayed excellent footwork to work his way beyond former Rovers forward Brereton Diaz before sending a low delivery into the danger area. The ball eventually fell to Fevrier just six yards from goal, with the forward’s effort appearing destined for the net. However, Hamza Choudhury produced a crucial piece of defending, throwing himself into the path of the shot and blocking it on the line before the danger was eventually cleared.

United were forced to withstand further pressure, but the Blades displayed plenty of resilience to protect their advantage and claim all three points.

Sheffield United Boss Delighted With Mentality

Sheffield United defender Liam Kitching applauding Blades fans after the defeat to Norwich City at Bramall Lane. (Image Credit: Sheffield United Football Club).

The result was particularly pleasing for Chris Wilder given the response his side produced following Saturday’s disappointing final half-hour.

Wilder was delighted with the attitude and mentality shown by his players. “Delighted with the attitude of the players, mentality of the players,” he said to SUTV. “It was important that we recovered from a really disappointing last half hour on Saturday afternoon. I didn’t enjoy that.

“Certain things, as I said, that maybe played a part in that, but we talked about that at length on Sunday. We needed a reaction, we got a reaction, a win.”

The United boss also acknowledged the need for greater consistency but was pleased to see his side grinding out results and moving into the top ten. “I think every club in the division is looking for the consistency, individually and as a team, and results. We’re all after that,” Wilder added.

“The league is a crackers league, as we know. Results are up and down but in this particular moment, I’ve talked about to the players, getting through to the international break and picking points up.

“Turn the clock back 12 months. We know where we were and now we’re sat inside the top ten. I’m not kidding myself that these are free-flowing performances at the moment and we’re grinding it out and we’re scrapping it out a little bit.

“I’ve got a team that puts everything on the line, as they’ve done today,” he added.

Wilder Praises Cannon

Tom Cannon’s contribution was another major positive, with the striker not only finding the net but also working tirelessly for the team throughout the contest.

“It’s good for Tommy,” Wilder said. “Tom’s scoring is great for him. He showed a load of energy. He did a job late on for us, wide on the right. We changed formations about three or four times to get the win. The win is always the biggest thing.”

Sheffield United welcome Wolverhampton Wanderers to Bramall Lane on Sunday midday.