Chris Wilder Shows Frustration as Sheffield United Lose Again: “We Were Well in the Game” | OneFootball

Coventry City underlined their promotion credentials on Tuesday evening with a ruthless 3-1 comeback victory over Sheffield United at the Coventry Building Society Arena.

Sheffield United began the contest immediately pressing Coventry high and unsettling the league leaders. A long throw from Sam McCallum caused early panic in the home box, setting the tone for an enterprising first 20 minutes.

At the other end, Josh Eccles forced an excellent save from Michael Cooper, the United goalkeeper reacting sharply to palm away the midfielder’s driven strike.

The Blades’ persistence was rewarded midway through the half. From a Sydie Peck corner, Ben Mee flicked the ball on, and McCallum, a former Coventry player, reacted quickest to stab home from close range and give United a deserved lead.

Both teams continued to trade blows in an entertaining first period. Coventry threatened through Milan van Ewijk’s long throws, one of which was glanced on by Liam Kitching and narrowly missed by Haji Wright at full stretch.

United remained dangerous on the counter, with Peck threading a perfectly weighted pass into the right channel for Tom Cannon. The striker’s clever cutback found Peck again, but his low effort was blocked and gathered by Carl Rushworth.

As half-time approached, Coventry came close to levelling when Brandon Thomas-Asante’s teasing cross found Wright, but Cooper once again came to United’s rescue with a fine stop to preserve the lead.

The game turned dramatically after the interval. Cooper, who had impressed throughout the first half, was forced off through injury and replaced by Adam Davies at the break.

Within minutes of the restart, Coventry were level. A long throw wasn’t properly cleared, and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto pounced with a precise low finish from the edge of the box.

Moments later, the Sky Blues completed the turnaround. From Victor Torp’s corner, Davies misjudged a punch under pressure, and Bobby Thomas’ header squirmed over the line to make it 2-1.

United rallied in search of an equaliser as the clock ticked down, but Coventry’s pace on the break proved decisive. In stoppage time, Haji Wright broke the offside trap and unselfishly squared for Thomas-Asante, who tapped home to seal a 3-1 victory.

Sheffield United Left Disappointed After “Tight Game” – Wilder Reacts

COVENTRY, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 04: Brandon Thomas-Asante of Coventry City scores his team’s third goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Coventry City and Sheffield United at The Coventry Building Society Arena on November 04, 2025 in Coventry, England. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

After the match, speaking to SUTV Chris Wilder expressed his disappointment at the result but praised his side’s effort against the league leaders.

“I didn’t think it was a 3-1, I thought it was a tighter game than that. We just can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We’re disappointed, I think it didn’t look like a team that was at the bottom of the division against a team at the top who are flying and scoring goals left, right and centre.

“We were well in the game right up until the 94th minute. The final goal, we’re chasing. There’s bits and pieces on that, maybe the quality towards the back end, the last 20 minutes when you’re chasing a game, you need to show a little bit more calmness and a little bit more composure and quality because we had opportunities. I think that comes with the situation that we’re in. We have to defend our goal better. The first one’s a long throw into our box that we’ve not tracked a runner.

“Disappointing to lose Michael [Cooper] at half-time, which knocked us back but I thought we were well in the game for long periods. It didn’t feel like a top running away with things against a team that’s obviously struggling at the moment to pick results up.”

Looking ahead, Wilder hinted at significant changes in the coming transfer window.

“We were always in it but that isn’t enough for me because we haven’t got anything from it.

“I’m learning about certain things left, right and centre and January can’t come quick enough, as you can imagine, to make the obvious changes that we need to make to give ourselves a better chance going forward.”

Regarding the injury news with Cooper, Wilder has described the issue as a back and neck injury. He added: “No it’s not precautionary. He wasn’t in a great way. The medical people are going to have to work extremely hard to get him right for Saturday.”