Sheffield United fans' Tom Cannon response noted as Chris Wilder makes bullish play-off vow
Sheffield United fans praised for Tom Cannon response as Chris Wilder makes bullish play-off vow
Chris Wilder hailed the “really good” reaction of Sheffield United’s supporters towards Tom Cannon after the £10m striker’s bad miss in Saturday’s stalemate with Blackburn Rovers at Bramall Lane. The Blades signed off their regular season with a 1-1 draw but they enjoyed chances to win it, most notably through Cannon.
The former Leicester City man should have put the Blades ahead when good work from Andre Brooks and then Callum O’Hare teed up the opportunity, but Cannon rushed his shot and blazed it over the bar when it looked easier to score.
To have Cannon, who scored his first Blades goal at Burnley last month, going into the play-offs with two in his last three games would have done his confidence the world of good but it wasn’t to be against Rovers. But it was noticeable that United supporters gave him a good reception as he made way later in the game, which ended 1-1 after Anel Ahmedhodzic cancelled out Yuki Ohashi’s opener for the visitors.
Asked about Cannon, boss Wilder insisted: “It'll happen. It'll happen. I’ve got to say, I thought the crowd's reaction to him was really good. There's no blame culture here. He understands it, he’s not daft. He has an opportunity that he should have stuck away.
“But he's in that position to stick it away and he will score. He's going to be a good player for us and we’ve got some other good players as well, so we're going to have to step up to the plate.”
United quickly turned their attentions to the play-offs after the final game of the regular season, with confirmation that they would face Bristol City in a two-legged play-off after they could only draw at home to struggling Preston North End while Coventry City’s victory over Middlesbrough on the final day took them up to fifth.
United won on their last trip to Ashton Gate, thanks to Harrison Burrows’ dramatic 98th minute winner, but they were denied three points in the return game at Bramall Lane as City scored a late goal of their own to earn a share of the spoils.
Coventry will face fourth-placed Sunderland for a place at Wembley, with Wilder adding: “We're going to have to be good in both boxes over the next two games. They're a difficult side as we said and we’re respecting what we're up against, but we fancy our chances. We're bullish about the opportunity in terms of getting to the final, but we can't talk about it. We have got to go and do it, go and do the business.”