John Eustace's encouraging Sheffield United verdict as Blackburn Rovers boss highlights unseen key to Ewood Park win
John Eustace’s verdict on Sheffield United’s display at Blackburn Rovers as Blades earn three more impressive points
John Eustace says that his Blackburn Rovers side will learn from playing “one of the top teams in the league” after Sheffield United’s season rolled on with another impressive three points at Ewood Park this afternoon. The Blades rolled through the gears in the second half to emerge deserved 2-0 winners, with goals in either period from Harrison Burrows and sub Tyrese Campbell.
The scoreline could have been even more convincing, with United having 20 shots and nine on target compared to zero for the hosts, as Blackburn’s excellent home record this season was punctured by the relentless Blades. Boss Eustace was enthused by his side’s first-half display, pointing to a lack of cutting edge as a major issue as they failed to test United goalkeeper Michael Cooper at all.
“We were up against a top team with top individuals,” Eustace said. “In the first half we held our own and had some good opps without making the most of them and when they scored their second we lost a bit of belief, which is disappointing. We lacked a bit of quality in the final third and we've got to work on that. We had a couple of opps in the second half but they went and scored.
“We turned a couple of things around and they didn't work today. Sheffield United are a good team, good individuals but that's them. There's lots for us to improve on. We got in some good areas but failed in that final pass. We're against a real top quality team and so when we got the chances we have to make the most of them.”
Eustace also highlighted United’s game management as another impressive facet of their performance, although the longest stoppage was not an artificial one as Vini Souza felt the full force of Makhtar Gueye’s elbow with an aerial challenge that could easily have seen a red for the Rovers sub. “They managed the game very well, they’re very experienced,” Eustace said.
“They went down and those are things that good, experienced teams do. As we started to get momentum, there was a stoppage of six or seven minutes. I'm not complaining, because that's good football and good management. We're learning all the time ans today was a real good experience, playing against one of the top teams in the league and we have to bounce back now.”