Luton Town 0-1 Sheffield United: A Tale of Two Halves Sees Blades Snatch Three Points | OneFootball

Sheffield United left it late to snatch all three points against bottom of the league Luton Town. This win means that the Blades move into top spot in the Championship with Leeds United facing Sunderland on Monday evening.

The only goal of the game came in the 79th minute when Anel Ahmedhodzic latched onto a hooked flick-on from Callum O’Hare, and the United defender composed himself before firing the ball low and hard into the back of the net in front of the travelling Blades.

Chris Wilder made a bunch of changes to the XI, two of which were enforced as Gustavo Hamer and Tom Cannon picked up knocks in the victory over Middlesbrough, so they both dropped out of the squad altogether. Sam McCallum replaced Harrison Burrows who dropped to the bench. Likewise, Sydie Peck dropped to the bench and was replaced by Hamza Choudhury. Rhian Brewster, Ben Brereton Diaz and Tyrese Campbell all started the game.

Lineups

Luton: Kaminski, Bell, McGuinness, Aasgaard, Morris, Adebayo (Brown 69), Naismith (Alli 90), Nakamba (Baptiste 76), Walsh (Bowler 90), Jones, Doughty.

Unused: Krul, Walters, Andersen, Johnson, Nordas.

Blades: Cooper, McCallum (Burrows 66), Brewster (Holding HT), Rak-Sakyi (Peck HT), Ahmedhodzic, Clarke, Robinson, Brereton Diaz (O’Hare 78), Souza, Campbell (Oné 66) Choudhury.

Unused: Faxon, T. Davies, Norrington-Davies, Brooks.

First Half

Despite being at opposite ends of the table, it was the struggling hosts who dictated much of the tempo, pushing forward with intent and feeding off the energy of a passionate home crowd. From the opening whistle, they showed no fear, testing the visitors’ defence and creating several clear-cut opportunities.

Thelo Aasgaard set the tone early, forcing a save from Michel Cooper with a sharp snapshot just two minutes in. The Blades found themselves on the back foot as the home side continued to press. Elijah Adebayo came close on eight minutes, directing a header just wide of the post as the Hatters sought to establish control.

Aasgaard nearly broke the deadlock in spectacular fashion, curling a beautiful shot onto the crossbar. Luton’s best first-half chances fell to Adebayo, but the striker failed to capitalise, most notably volleying a golden opportunity over the bar from just six yards out.

Despite the hosts’ dominance, the visitors had their moments. Tyrese Campbell finally forced Thomas Kaminski into action in the 44th minute, marking their first and only first-half effort on targe.

Second Half

LUTON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 15: Anel Ahmedhodzic scores the winner during the Sky Bet Championship match between Luton Town FC and Sheffield United FC at Kenilworth Road on February 15, 2025 in Luton, England. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

At halftime, Wilder opted for a bold tactical shift, introducing Rob Holding and Sydie Peck for Rhian Brewster and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, transitioning United into a back three. The change nearly paid immediate dividends, as the second half kicked off with both sides creating opportunities.

Luton’s Morris forced Michel Cooper into another early save, but United responded swiftly on the counter, with Ben Brereton Díaz agonisingly striking the woodwork from close range following Campbell’s outstanding ball across the face of goal.

The intensity remained high as Wilder continued to make another double substitution in the 66th minute as Harrison Burrows and Ryan Oné replaced Sam McCallum and Tyrese Campbell.

The visitors nearly capitalised on the fresh legs a few minutes later when Brereton Díaz combined well with Burrows down the left. A low cut-back found its way back to the Chilean forward, but his driven effort from 18 yards flew over the bar, squandering a golden opportunity.

With 12 minutes left, Wilder made his final roll of the dice, replacing Brereton Díaz with Callum O’Hare. As the clock ticked down, Luton looked poised to claim a valuable point that would have lifted them off the foot of the table. However, United had other plans.

The breakthrough arrived in dramatic fashion. A free-kick from Peck was only partially cleared to Burrows, whose shot rebounded into the path of O’Hare. The substitute showed great awareness to hook the ball forward into the centre of the box, where Ahmedhodzic reacted quickest, controlling and calmly firing past the Luton keeper from close range.

The Blades managed to see the game out without conceding any late chances from the hosts.