Derby County 0-1 Sheffield United: Brereton Diaz Back With A Bang | OneFootball

Sheffield United brushed past the challenge of Derby County at Pride Park, albeit by an unconvincing 1-0 win.

The only goal of the game came in the 49th minute when two recent recruits, Tom Cannon and Ben Brereton Diaz, combined early in the second half to keep the Blades on the tail of table toppers Leeds United.

Chris Wilder gave debuts to both Harry Clarke and Hamza Choudhury whilst Vinicius Souza and Rhian Brewster both returned to the starting eleven. Alfie Gilchrist, Sam McCallum, Sydie Peck and Andre Brooks all dropped to the bench.

Lineups

Derby: Widell Zetterstrom, Forsyth, Ozoh (Thompson 67), Osborn, Yates, Salvesen, Goudmijn (Barkhuizen 80), Jackson (Mendez-Laing 74), Nyambe (Harness HT), Clarke, Adams.

Unused: Vickers, Rooney, Allen, Cox, Wheeldon.

Blades: Cooper, Brewster (McCallum 74), O’Hare (Campbell 61), Burrows, Ahmedhodzic, Clarke, Robinson, Brereton Diaz (Rak-Sakyi 61), Souza, Choudhury, Cannon (Peck 78).

Unused: A. Davies, Gilchrist, Norrington-Davies, Brooks, Oné.

First Half

Sheffield United looked to make an early impact on proceedings two minutes in when Cannon spun on the ball on the edge of the box and evaded his marker only for his low shot to lack conviction.

A few moments later, it was Brewster’s turn to fire a shot down the middle of the goal without testing the Rams’ keeper too much.

In what was a cagey start to the game, the first real big chance came when Robinson lofted the ball into the box and over the top of the defence for Brereton Diaz to run onto from the right. Bringing the ball down well, the Chilean stabbed an effort goalwards only for Widell Zetterstrom to make a fantastic close-range save. It wouldn’t have counted nonetheless as the referee blew for a foul on Brereton Diaz for knocking the jumping defender off balance, even though there wasn’t much in it.

Derby perhaps should’ve taken the lead when a set-piece was flicked on from deep in the box towards debutant Matt Clarke, but his header from six-yards sailed wide.

It took the home side 21 minutes to register their first shot on target. The ball bounced up well for Goudmijn to have a strike at it from 30 yards out, but his volley was easily held by Michael Cooper. A few minutes later, they tested Cooper again, this time a header from Salvesen, but Cooper comfortably dealt with it.

Another Clarke was making his debut in this game and that was Harry Clarke for the Blades. And the on-loan Ipswich Town man showed his athleticism by driving down the right flank and delivering a perfect low cross to Brewster who was lurking at the near post, but his first-time shot curled wide.

Second Half

DERBY, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 01: Harry Clarke of Sheffield United celebrates with teammates Anel Ahmedhodzic and Hamza Choudhury following the Sky Bet Championship match between Derby County FC and Sheffield United FC at Pride Park on February 01, 2025 in Derby, England. (Photo by Cameron Smith/Getty Images)

The first half was a poor showing from both sides, and Chris Wilder evidently had strong words to say at half-time which upped United’s urgency.

And in the 49th minute, the Blades found the opener. Brewster did really well to maintain the attack after carrying the ball to Derby’s penalty area. He then worked the ball out to the left where Cannon was lurking. The Irish international dropped his shoulder and breezed past his marker as he drove to the byline. And then he fired the ball across the six-yard box for an unmarked Ben Brereton Diaz to tap the ball home into an empty net.

On 61 minutes, Callum O’Hare and Brereton Diaz made way for Tyrese Campbell and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi as the Blades looked to freshen up the wide areas. A couple of moments later, United had a great opportunity to go and grab a second as Cannon, 25 yards out from goal, had men either side of him with the away side having a spare man, but Cannon chose the wrong option and opted to smash the ball way over the bar.

Derby had an excellent chance to level things up late in the game when Forsyth flicked on a corner towards Matt Clarke a couple of yards out from goal, but once again he headed the ball over in a heavily contested six-yard box.