Familiar trends have all but killed Sheffield United's already faint play-off hopes
If Sheffield United’s pre-Wrexham preparations had taught them anything, it should have been that Phil Parkinson’s men often come alive inside the final 15 minutes of matches.
After Andre Brooks’ opener got wiped out almost immediately by former Sheffield Wednesday man Josh Windass, who brought Wrexham level just five minutes later, United’s supporters, deep down, probably knew there was only going to be one outcome.
And so it proved when Sam Smith, who had teed up Windass for the visitors’ leveller, headed in Issa Kaboré’s cross with 78 minutes on the clock for the winner. Wrexham were the better side after they had equalised, and United failed to defend well enough to take something from the contest.
Smith’s header marked the 17th goal Wrexham have scored beyond the 75th minute this season. They have scored 11 goals between the 75th and the 90th minutes and then a further six in added time. Only Ipswich Town have scored more Championship goals (20) beyond the 75th minute this term.
United, on the flip side, have conceded ten goals beyond the 75th minute this term. That tally of ten in the final quarter of an hour contributes to an overall figure of 38 goals they have conceded in the second half of matches this season.
With only Wednesday (43) conceding more goals than the Blades after the interval in the Championship this season, United’s second half struggles are a concerning trend. The defeat to Wrexham marked the fourth time in the last six matches that they had been in front at any point after half-time and had failed to win.
Dropping 11 points from winning positions in their last six outings, the Blades have now dropped 27 points from winning positions over the course of the season, a record that is simply nowhere near good enough. Unsurprisingly, no team in the Championship has dropped more points from a winning position this term.
Couple that with their struggles against top half teams and it is no great surprise United are where they are with seven games to go. The defeat to Wrexham on Saturday means they have amassed just 16 points from a possible 63 against teams who currently sit in the top half of the Championship table.
With seven games remaining, United are now 17th in the standings, 13 points behind Southampton, who currently occupy the final play-off spot ahead of Wrexham on goal difference. Although they are not mathematically out of the running just yet, their top six hopes, by all accounts, are dead and buried.
On United dropping more points from a winning position, manager Chris Wilder said: “The points from winning positions, as you’ve talked about, and rightly so... physically, there's definitely something in that. We're not where we need to be in my opinion, physically.
“I want us to play in the way that we want to play, we don't just want to sit back and just think one goal is enough. We want to go for two and go for three and we've done that at home as well.”
It was not all that long ago United were threatening to take teams to the cleaners. Their 3-1 win over Oxford United at Bramall Lane on February 3, for example, saw them plunder three goals in a game for a ninth time in just 15 Championship matches.
Since that victory over Matt Bloomfield’s men, though, the Blades have not been as ruthless in front of goal when chances have presented themselves, scoring just nine times in their last 11 matches.
A combination of letting leads slip, second half struggles, struggling against top half teams, not being good enough in either box at key moments and the events have last summer have ultimately led to United falling away from the top six spots when, only a few weeks ago, it looked as though an unlikely promotion dream might still have legs to it.
It is important to remember where United were at the juncture when Wilder returned in September, answering the SOS call, and barring any disasters, relegation, which was a realistic threat not all that long ago, will be successfully avoided.
However, there will no doubt a feeling of ‘what if’ running around the heads of everyone associated with the club after finding themselves within eight points of the top six only a couple of weeks ago. Ultimately, too many factors and too many familiar trends have killed off their already faint promotion hopes.