Sheffield United Continue to Struggle Against Opposition’s Low Block as Manager Makes “Nothing Serious” Claim | OneFootball

Sheffield United delivered a poor performance last Saturday lunchtime as they threw away a first-half lead to lose 2-1 against bottom-of-the-table Plymouth Argyle.

Despite a few early corners that saw Jack Robinson head narrowly over, the Blades offered little going forward in a lethargic opening spell. Plymouth, though not much better in the early exchanges, had a strong penalty appeal waved away when striker Mustapha Bundu tangled with Robinson on the edge of the area while chasing a high ball, but the referee was unmoved.

The match seemed destined to limp into half-time goalless until a rare moment of quality lit up the game in the 44th minute. A poor defensive clearance fell kindly to Gustavo Hamer, who quickly found Jesurun Rak-Sakyi out wide. The winger dazzled with a piece of individual brilliance, twisting Nathanael Ogbeta inside out before curling a left-footed strike into the far corner past a helpless Conor Hazard to put United 1-0 up.

That moment of magic should have been the platform for a dominant second half, but instead, the Blades once again crumbled under pressure. Plymouth grew into the game and were rewarded in the 81st minute when Ryan Hardie poked home from close range after a corner wasn’t properly dealt with by the United defence.

Just minutes later, things went from bad to worse for Chris Wilder’s side. A cross into the box wasn’t cleared, and Robinson’s panicked clearance fell perfectly for substitute Muhamed Tijani, who rifled the ball past Michael Cooper to complete a remarkable turnaround.

Full-time was marred by drama as emotions boiled over. Chris Wilder appeared to confront match-winner Tijani as the teams left the field. Sky Sports cameras were also able to capture a number of Blades and Plymouth players punching and pulling each other down the tunnel, and Wilder was stuck in the middle of it.

Sheffield United And Plymouth Argyle Manager Reflect on ‘Incident’ at Full-time

(Image Credit: Sheffield United Football Club.)

Speaking after the game, Wilder played down the incident on SUTV: “It was nothing really,” Wilder insisted. “They’re celebrating a big win and they’re coming off and unfortunately our supporters are in the stand right next to the tunnel. I spoke to their manager: he’s as good as gold, he understands the situation. Emotions run high for their boys as well because it’s a huge win for them. I’m sure if we’d have won, that would’ve made it double difficult for them to stay up, so they’ve given themselves a fighting chance.”

Plymouth head coach Ian Muslic echoed those sentiments, telling BBC Radio Devon, “I think it was nothing serious. A lot of emotions, but I think nobody crossed the line. I had a good conversation with Chris Wilder and also with the referees. Everything is under control; the usual emotions for good and for bad, but nothing to mention.”

United’s Issues Against Low Blocks Continue

Before the game, there was an alarming statistical trend emerging, and to no surprise, this continued. The Blades registered 69% possession on Saturday, via FBref.

This now means United have now had five games this season where they’ve dominated the ball (65% possession or more), and they’ve lost four of them, three of them in the last week alone, thus highlighting United have a serious problem at playing against a team defending in a low block.

United created just 0.6 xG against Plymouth, and that is the second lowest xG any Plymouth opponent has created all season. Only Oxford have recorded lower.

Oxford, Millwall and Plymouth all shut up shop against Sheffield United, and all of them saw their gameplan successful. Cardiff City visit Bramall Lane on Good Friday, and they will undoubtedly look to use the same low block which has troubled the Blades in the last few weeks.

The Blades are now five points behind Leeds United and Burnley, and it’s looking increasingly likely they’ll be involved in another dreaded play-off campaign.