Sheffield United 1-1 Blackburn Rovers: Blades Crush Rovers’ Play-off Hopes on Final Day | OneFootball

Sheffield United ended the campaign with a 1-1 draw against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday afternoon, ultimately seeing the visitors narrowly missing out on a play-off spot on the final day.

Yiku Ohashi sent the away end into a frenzy early in the second half when he gave Rovers the lead. But nine minutes later, Anel Ahmedhodzic found the equaliser in front of the Kop end.

United made seven changes for the final day. Adam Davies made his first start since August, whilst Alfie Gilchrist also returned to the starting XI along with Gustavo Hamer, Anel Ahmedhodzic, Tom Cannon, Andre Brooks and Sydie Peck.

Lineups

Blades: A. Davies, Gilchrist (Seriki 60), McCallum (Burrows 85), Holding, Hamer (Brewster 60), O’Hare, Ahmedhodzic, Souza (T. Davies 71), Cannon (Oné 85), Brooks, Peck.

Unused: Faxon, Moore, Robinson, Campbell.

Blackburn: Toth, Brittain, Ribeiro, Hyam, Tronstad (Woodrow 88), Cantwell (Dennis 82), Dolan (Gueye 82), Batth, Hedges (Kargbo 70), Ohashi, Travis (Forshaw 88).

Unused: Pears, Pickering, Carter, Sanderson.

First Half

The opening stages saw Blackburn under pressure, with the home side settling quickly into the game. Blades forward Tom Cannon forced a smart low save from Balazs Toth early on, before Gus Hamer somehow guided Andre Brooks’ inviting cross wide from close range, a glaring miss that should have put United ahead.

Rovers had their moments, though. They saw two penalty shouts turned down as Todd Cantwell went down twice under challenges from Gilchrist, though both appeals were waved away. And Adam Davies had to stay alert when Callum Brittain nearly caught him out with a dipping effort to the far post.

Second Half

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND – MAY 3: Ryan Hedges of Blackburn Rovers celebrates his team’s first goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Sheffield United FC and Blackburn Rovers FC at Bramall Lane on May 3, 2025 in Sheffield, England. (Photo by Ed Sykes/Getty Images)

The breakthrough came shortly after the restart when Blackburn struck with precision. Yuki Ohashi latched onto Brittain’s incisive pass inside the area and fired low past Davies, the ball taking a crucial deflection off Rob Holding to leave the United keeper wrong-footed. Holding’s misery continued moments later when he was booked for a clumsy foul on Cantwell.

But United weren’t down for long. As the clock ticked towards the hour mark, Anel Ahmedhodzic levelled the score, capitalising after Holding kept Hamer’s back-post cross alive in the box. The goal came just moments after Cannon appeared to be tripped by Lewis Travis in the box, another penalty claim that was waved away by the referee.

The equaliser seemed to dent Blackburn’s momentum, and Toth had to be alert again to palm away a deflected effort from Sydie Peck. As time wore on, Blackburn threw on attackers in a desperate bid for a late winner that would have sealed a play-off spot.

Despite the attacking changes, it was Sheffield United who carved out the better chances in the closing stages. Toth denied Callum O’Hare with another sharp save before Cannon squandered a golden opportunity, blazing over from five yards after O’Hare’s clever setup.

Blackburn’s final chance fell to substitute Emmanuel Dennis in added time, but his poor header from a corner summed up a frustrating afternoon for Valerien Ismael’s side as they finished seventh.

Meanwhile, Sheffield United now know that they will face Bristol City in the Championship play-off semi-finals, with the away tie set to take place this coming Thursday, and the home leg will be the following Monday.