A rash challenge, a brave sub and a glaring, costly miss: Heroes and Villains from Sheffield United 1, Brighton 1

It was a game they should have won and could easily have lost.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Sheffield United had to settle for a point from their game with Brighton and Hove Albion yesterday, despite leading until late in the game and playing for 50 minutes with 10 men.

Here are our heroes and villains from the game as United's long wait for victory went on...

John Lundstram

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Opinion seemed split at the time on whether Lundstram's red card, for a challenge in midfield on Brighton's Joël Veltman, was harsh or warranted. He certainly got the ball first, but also definitely got Veltman in his follow through and ref Peter Bankes upgraded his initial yellow card to a red after watching it back on his pitchside monitor.

Almost 60 per cent of voters thought the challenge should have been a yellow card in a snap Twitter poll but either way, the red card hurt United at a time when they were starting to look dangerous after Wilder's early decision to take off John Fleck for Oli Burke and go three up top.

Lundstram will also now miss United's next three games, at a time when Sander Berge is also injured, leaving United badly light in that right midfield role. A three-game ban takes him through to January and the opening of the transfer window - raising the possibility that the challenge could be Lundstram's last action in a Blades shirt, with United inviting offers for him ahead of his contract expiring in the summer.

After his superb performances in the first half of last season, as United attacked the Premier League following promotion, what a shame that would be if it was to end on such a sour note for club and player.

Oliver Burke of Sheffield Utd shoots wide at the AMEX Stadium: David Klein/SportimageOliver Burke of Sheffield Utd shoots wide at the AMEX Stadium: David Klein/Sportimage
Oliver Burke of Sheffield Utd shoots wide at the AMEX Stadium: David Klein/Sportimage

Chris Wilder

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It didn't ultimately result in the three points that he and every other United supporter was praying would come, but Wilder deserves full credit for his early proactive change which saw the ineffective Fleck replaced by the lively Oli Burke.

Burke's introduction seemed to lift United - he was straight into the Brighton backline and Dunk was booked for bringing him down - and it would have been fascinating to see how the change of shape would have gone had it not been for Lundstram's red card, which forced another reshuffle.

After Berge's injury against Manchester United, the Blades boss must be privately wondering when he is going to catch a break. But the introduction of Jayden Bogle for his Premier League debut was another inspired one, and looked to have given his side a desperately-needed victory until Danny Welbeck popped up with the equaliser late in the game.

Oliver Burke replaces John Fleck: David Klein/SportimageOliver Burke replaces John Fleck: David Klein/Sportimage
Oliver Burke replaces John Fleck: David Klein/Sportimage

Aaron Ramsdale

After coming out and holding up his hands on Twitter after his mistake against Man. U, this was an assured performance from Ramsdale - aside from one nervy moment, when he missed a cross from the right and Aaron Connolly somehow missed his header from close range after closing his eyes.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He showed good alertness and bravery to dive at Connolly's feet, and then palm away the follow up from Maupay, and really deserved his first clean sheet in his second spell at United.

The wait for that goes on, after Welbeck's late equaliser broke Blades hearts. But for all the brickbats he has taken so far this season, Ramsdale deserves a lot of praise for bouncing back and showing some real character.

The big screen displays a VAR message resulting in a red card for John Lundstram of Sheffield United during the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Sheffield United (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)The big screen displays a VAR message resulting in a red card for John Lundstram of Sheffield United during the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Sheffield United (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
The big screen displays a VAR message resulting in a red card for John Lundstram of Sheffield United during the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Sheffield United (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

John Fleck

No player likes the ignominy of being dragged just after the half-hour mark of a game, but Fleck simply wasn't in the contest and one passage of play, when Jack Robinson played a free-kick short to him, summed up his fortunes at the minute.

Fleck was too slow to turn, was easily dispossessed and Brighton broke at speed, with Adam Lallana's shot deflected behind for a corner.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Wilder wasted no time in acting and deserves credit for that, and the gauntlet has now been laid down to Fleck. He is obviously no longer the untouchable he was once thought of and another full-blooded cameo from Ben Osborn won't have gone unnoticed.

On his day, Fleck is undoubtedly Premier League class and along with Chris Basham, has been the most consistent player at United since the League One days.

But no-one could argue that he's at his fluid best right now and seems short of form, fitness or confidence, or possibly a combination of all three. It would be foolish to write a player of his undoubted quality off, but United need to see more of it if they're to give themselves a fighting chance of getting out of the situation they find themselves in.

Chris Wilder talks to his midfield ahead of the Brighton game: David Klein/SportimageChris Wilder talks to his midfield ahead of the Brighton game: David Klein/Sportimage
Chris Wilder talks to his midfield ahead of the Brighton game: David Klein/Sportimage

Oliver Burke

A real conundrum of a player. He was United's main attacking outlet for much of this game - his pace visibly frightens defenders and Dunk was in the book minutes after coming on after hauling him down.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He must be a nightmare to mark - he runs his boots off for the cause and offers United the pace and raw, explosive power that no-one else can. But the trade off is his frequent lack of composure - he fell over when through on goal at West Brom and should have put United 2-0 ahead here, but stumbled off balance and smashed his shot over the Brighton bar.

The hosts punished that mistake with Welbeck's equaliser, but to go 2-0 ahead would have killed the game stone dead and United would surely have been toasting their first win of the season on the long drive home.

Burke has only scored 15 goals in his entire professional career and there are similarities with David McGoldrick last season - in that he wasn't scoring goals, but still adding so much to the team with his all-round play.

The difference is that despite McGoldrick's goal drought, United were still winning games. This time around, they aren't - and need to find a way to somehow calm down Burke in front of goal if they are to change that fact any time soon.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.