Sheffield United man in spotlight after "one of worst nights in history" which could impact Blades form
Disappointed Sheffield United man in spotlight after unfortunate incident in “one of worst night’s in history”
Harry Souttar, the Sheffield United defender, was in the spotlight for the wrong reasons earlier this week after his 89th-minute own goal saw Australia fall to what has been described as “one of the worst nights in Socceroo history.” Graham Arnold’s side saw their hopes of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup dealt a blow with a shock defeat to Bahrain.
Australia, ranked 24th in the world, were heavy favourites against Bahrain in 80th but it was the minnows who made history with their first-ever win against the Socceroos - who finished the game with 10 men after Portsmouth’s Kusini Yengi was sent off with 13 minutes to go after a neck-high challenge on Bahraini defender Sayed Baqer.
And it got worse from there, with Abdulla Al-Khulasi’s shot taking a big deflection off defender Souttar and wrongfooting goalkeeper Mat Ryan in the 89th minute. Unitedites will hope that Souttar, who joined up with his country in good form after a positive start for United on loan from Leicester City, will not let the unfortunate incident affect his confidence when he returns to South Yorkshire.
“It was disappointing second half when we don’t really make the keeper work at all,” Souttar said. “We addressed it after the game, saying we could have more shots, at least test him. We’ve got quality players in the attacking third and I don’t want to keep saying: ‘Oh, it’s difficult to make chances, becaue we normally do’, but we’ve just got to find a way, as simple as that.”
It was a similar theme from manager Arnold, who was once approached to take charge of United but turned down the chance after branding the Blades “prehistoric.” “You have to learn from these type of games when players are getting very frustrated,” he said. “There was a lot of fouls and time-wasting and, for especially the younger boys, it’s a learning process.
“It’s a learning curve for our players and it just wasn’t our night, we had the chances to put the ball in the back of the net. If you do that against these nations they tend to fall apart a bit more, but we didn’t do that and kept them in the game.”
But there was a more emotive response Down Under, with sports reporter Vince Rugari describing the result as “one of the worst nights in Socceroo history.” The defeat was also called “disastrous,” “horrific” and “embarrassing” by other pundits and commentators. Australia’s third-round World Cup qualifying campaign continues on Tuesday in Indonesia, before Souttar returns to Shirecliffe ahead of next Friday’s Championship clash with Hull City.