Sheffield United Women hoping big Bramall Lane crowd can inspire in biggest game of the season

Sheffield United skipper Satara Murray is hoping that an expected bumper crowd at Bramall Lane on Sunday can help fire the Blades to Championship safety.

United take on the division’s bottom team, Portsmouth, with Ash Thompson’s side themselves just four-points away from the relegation place.

Victory over Pompey would go some way towards securing another season in the second tier for United and performances since the turn of the year have brought plenty of optimism to the camp.

Last week United were narrowly beaten 1-0 at league leaders Birmingham City and before that, they picked up a creditable draw against another promotion-chasing side in Durham.

It’s been a trend throughout the campaign, that despite not having picked up many wins, United are rarely badly beaten and the feeling in the squad is that they are close to turning those tight games into victories on a regular basis.

“I think that has been pretty much the summary of our season, you know,” said Jamaica internationa, Murray. “I don't think any game you can really say this season that we've been obviously outplayed.

“I think one thing that I've always known about this team, it's a team of fighters, a team of girls that are ambitious. We have a common goal, and that's go out there and get results every weekend. But I agree, I think it hasn't been a tale of... we've gotten absolutely mauled by teams. It hasn't been anything like that. It's been, you know, 1-0, 2-1, here and there. And I think we're so close, some games we're on the brink of winning, and then we end up conceding in the last, like, 90+ minutes.

“Obviously, it's frustrating, but I think when we look at the bigger scope of things, it's been a season of progress. I think we're progressing in the right direction. I think how we started the second half of the season especially, has been really positive, but I'm excited to see what these last few weeks hold for us.”

United are putting on a show off the pitch too, with entertainment planned for supporters before the match but Murray is also aiming to give the fans plenty cheer about, in the form of goals.

“I think that has been what we've lacked quite a bit throughout the season,” said added. “And I think this may very well be an opportunity this weekend where we are playing a team that is bottom of the league, where we could have those chances come to us more frequently than we normally are used to. And it's on us now to really put them away and actually get a result.”

And the crowd should go some way towards pushing the Blades on to victory.

“It's crucial for us,” said Murray. “We understand the magnitude of it, and we know we have a job to go out there and do this weekend. And we're doing everything right now in terms of preparation to make sure that we have everything. We're dotting all our i’s and crossing all our t’s to make sure that we go out there and find a really good performance for the crowd. And hopefully we do, and when we do that hopefully crowds like that will continue to keep coming for the remainder of the season and in the future.”

Sheffield United v Portsmouth kicks off at 2pm on Sunday. Tickets are available HERE