Sheffield United find a way when quality escapes them as defining Portsmouth moment keeps play-off hopes alive
Sheffield United find a way when quality runs out as defining Fratton Park moment keeps play-off hopes alive
It wasn’t pretty for the most part and for a large part of this afternoon’s clash with Portsmouth, it didn’t look like it was going to be particularly effective either. But the sign of a good team is that they find a way to win they aren’t at their best, and that was the case for Sheffield United at Fratton Park.
The manner of the victory, courtesy of Andre Brooks’ back-post winner as the clock ticked down on the south coast, will make the long trip back up the M40 and M1 for the hardy Unitedites fly by a little quicker, with optimism renewed about a late play-off push after the slight backward step of Monday’s defeat to Middlesbrough.
It felt important that United got back on the horse as quickly as possible but the fixture list sent them to one of the most difficult Championship stages at which to do so. Pompey make things so difficult at Fratton Park and this quickly became an engaging contest full of end-to-end action and devoid of almost any real quality.
United had a chance in the first half, Gus Hamer hitting the post, and Pompey had more. Terry Devlin, sent off for handball in the return game at Bramall Lane earlier this season, should have made amends with at least one goal; sub Jacob Brown should have scored with his first touch but he couldn’t sort out his feet.
The game seemed to be drifting towards an inevitable stalemate but United still had one more moment in them. An overload out on the left, a perfectly-weighted cross and a good bit of anticipation from Brooks, who hadn’t had a good time of it at all in the 89 minutes before this one.
But to his credit he stayed involved in the game and didn’t drift, stretching every nerve and sinew of his leg to hook the ball over the line before pulling out his trademark somersault in front of a jubilant away support.
Sheffield United find a way when quality escapes them as defining Fratton Park moment keeps play-off hopes alive
“It was maybe a case of mentality over control and us imposing ourselves,” admitted boss Chris Wilder admitted. “They were better at what they did first half than we were. But they never put us to bed and we grew into the game second half. At half-time, we talked about it. We can do a little bit better.
“I'm not sure they could do any better than that. We knew the game would settle down a little bit and it did. We started to impose ourselves, with Kalvin [Phillips, making his United full debut] in the middle of the park.
“It was a really tough one to get chucked into because of the pace and the nature of the game and the intensity of it. Their two midfield players were all over our midfield players. They won that battle in the first half.
“Kalvin gave us an opportunity to start finding passes and getting out, always knowing that the opposition are dangerous. Maybe I would have took a point with 10 minutes to go. That’s not being negative, because this is a difficult place to come. To get a winner is brilliant for everybody, especially our travelling fans.”
United have been better than this of late and lost, most recently in Monday night’s home defeat at Boro. But what they lacked in technical quality they more than made up for in character, heart and spirit, which will have delighted their manager as he reflects on the long journey home.
“We had to dig a little bit deeper,” he added. “It's just Championship football at times, right the way through. I said it all along, in 46 games, there are some games you play really well and you win, some games where you dig in and get a result.
“And some games where you're a little bit off of it. Maybe we were a little bit off of it today but to get something for these games is what it’s all about in the Championship.”