Halifax Town 1-3 Sheffield United: Blades Kick-off Pre-season With Win | OneFootball

Sheffield United got their 2026/27 pre-season campaign underway in winning style with a 3-1 victory over Halifax Town on Saturday afternoon at Shay Stadium.

Tom Cannon kicked off the scoring with an outstanding finish into the bottom left corner in the first half. The home side levelled things up after the interval thanks to a trialist who pounced inside the six-yard box to steer home.

The Blades put the West Yorkshire side to the sword when Patrick Bamford and Gustavo Hamer linked up to put the ball on a plate for Tyrese Campbell. Then Hamer provided a signature goal late in the half, cutting inside from the left and unleashing a curling effort into the top right corner.

Lineups

First half XI: Cooper, Tanganga, Shackleton, Baptiste, Burrows, Arblaster, Rothwell, Marsh, Oné, Giggs, Cannon.

Second half XI: Davies, McGuinness, Zatterstrom, Seriki, McCallum, Riedewald, Blacker, McGlinchey, Hamer, Campbell, Bamford.

First Half

The Blades settled quickly and almost made an immediate breakthrough thanks to Oliver Arblaster, whose vision created two excellent opportunities in the space of a minute. His first incisive pass released Oné, who struck the side netting, before another perfectly weighted through ball found Tom Cannon, who calmly slotted across the goalkeeper and into the far corner after 18 minutes.

United continued to control possession and looked dangerous throughout the opening period. Japhet Tanganga came close to doubling the advantage when he met Joe Rothwell’s corner with a free header, while both Oné and Cannon tested the Halifax defence with further efforts.

Operating from the left flank, Oné was a constant attacking outlet and played a key role in many of United’s best moves. Halifax created little in response, with Michael Cooper producing a smart save using his feet to deny the hosts. Shortly before the interval, Marsh fired over the crossbar after a well-worked passing move inside the penalty area.

Second Half

Halifax emerged with greater intent after the restart, forcing Adam Davies into an important save before eventually drawing level in the 63rd minute. A low cross from the left found a Trialist, who converted from close range to make it 1-1.

Tyrese Campbell, making his return to action, looked lively after coming on and threatened with a couple of promising openings. His persistence was rewarded in the 71st minute when Patrick Bamford and Gustavo Hamer combined brilliantly to split the defence, allowing Campbell to finish from close range and restore the Blades’ lead.

The same trio almost combined again ten minutes later, but Bamford was unable to bring the ball under control at the decisive moment.

United capped an impressive performance with a superb third goal deep into stoppage time. Collecting possession outside the penalty area, Gustavo Hamer bent a superb strike into the top corner to seal a convincing opening pre-season win.