Sheffield United found themselves 2-1 up within eight minutes at Cardiff City this afternoon but ultimately hung on for a point after a breathless Championship contest. The Blades were 1-0 down inside two minutes when Jack Moylan fired home.
But Tom Cannon’s penalty and Callum O’Hare’s smart finish put them ahead, even if they couldn’t hold out until half-time as Cian Ashford levelled. Michael Cooper was by far the busier of the two goalkeepers and Cardiff hit the bar late on as they pushed for the winner they will feel they deserved.
But United defended resolutely in the face of such pressure, with City finishing with nearly 30 shots at goal, and had chances to win it themselves as they registered a third draw in three Championship games.
Here’s how we rated United’s players in South Wales ...
9. Patrick Bamford 5
United need more from their forward talisman than they got in the first two league games of the season and there were signs of that here when he showed good vision and awareness to set up O'Hare's first of the season, after a loose touch from the home side surrendered possession. But as the half went on both he and Cannon drifted onto the periphery of the game and Bamford was sacrificed at the break, with Phillips introduced to shore things up a touch | The Star/Sport Image
10. Callum O'Hare 6
Involved in the first, scored the second and you got the feeling that if anything good happened from an attacking perspective it was going to come from O'Hare somewhere down the line. It became a one-sided affair for a time but Unitedites thought they had got something to cheer about when O'Hare let fly after 66 minutes, but it flew the wrong side of the post from their perspective | The Star
11. Tom Cannon 6
Two in two for the United No.9 as he won, and then stuck away, an early penalty after good interplay with O'Hare had seen him get the right side of his marker from a United perspective. He finished calmly down the middle and could have had another not long after but Trott saved his effort. Then, as the half wore on and City began to dominate, he drifted a little and was left chasing shadows a touch in the second half as United changed shape | The Star/Sport Image
12. Notable subs: Rhys Norrington-Davies
A bright cameo from the Welshman on Welsh soil, who looked fired up with a couple of aggressive runs down the left wing after coming on and allowing McCallum to shift to left centre-half. Also used: Phillips, Shackleton, Riedewald | The Star/getty