Gus Hamer showed a touch of class to settle Sheffield United’s tight clash against Derby County, and then another in the celebration as he paid tribute to late Blades legend Maddy Cusack. The former women’s player and staff member passed away a year ago yesterday and Hamer unveiled a MC 8 message underneath his shirt after a superb free-kick gave United three more precious points.
The Blades were rocked by a big injury blow to Oliver Arblaster on the eve of the game but overcame that and some frustrating tactics from the away side to eat away the minutes to register their third successive win and keep their unbeaten Championship start going. Here’s how we rated the Blades’ players...
5. Harrison Burrows 7
Caught out by a good pass inside him within the first five seconds of the game but fortunately Souttar was there to mop up and prevent an early concession. But barely put a foot wrong from there as he snapped into tackles and picked out Souttar at will from set-pieces. Wisely gave up the free-kick for Hamer for United's goal | Sportimage
6. Vini Souza 7
Continued his redemption arc with the captain's armband in Arblaster's absence and was back near his commanding best as he bossed midfield physically. A first-half yellow card limited him a little, for a challenge on Yates in which the Derby man appeared to forget he'd been touched for a few seconds before dropping dramatically to the ground. For a few seconds you held your breath after he caught another Derby man slightly late nearer the hour mark but there was no second yellow and a composed and commanding display continued Photo: Nathan Stirk
7. Sydie Peck 7.5
Given his chance in midfield due to Arblaster's injury absence and wasted no time getting into the flow of the game with a typically crunching tackle inside the first few minutes. But he showed his class on the ball as well and was always willing to take it on in tight spaces when other players of his experience may look to pass the buck elsewhere. His eyes will have lit up late on when the ball fell to him in the area but his effort was blocked near the line and into Zetterstrom's arms | Sportimage
8. Jesurun Rak-Sakyi 6.5
Heavily involved early on and saw an effort inside the first two minutes deflected onto the Derby crossbar and away for a corner. He couldn't quite keep up that level of involvement for the rest of the game despite some good flashes but it was another promising display that came to an end when Brooks replaced him | Sportimage