Tyrese Campbell’s second-half strike proved to be the difference in a gruelling Steel City derby to move Sheffield United into second spot in the Championship courtesy of victory over their arch-rivals Sheffield Wednesday.
Derbies between Sheffield’s two biggest sides have been few and far between in recent seasons, with this only the fifth competitive fixture since 2012 and the first in over 2,000 days. The last three had all finished 0-0 and throughout a fairly timid opening half here at Bramall Lane, it looked as though this could be the fourth in succession.
But Campbell’s strike five minutes after half-time ultimately proved to be the difference to ensure Chris Wilder’s side continued their impressive start to the season. They are now level on points with Sunderland at the top and have conceded just seven goals in their first 15 games, a defensive record bettered only by Burnley.
After the disappointment of last season’s rather humiliating relegation from the Premier League, Wilder looks to have rebuilt his boyhood club and put them in a strong position for an immediate return. He, more than most, will have savoured this result.
A capacity crowd inside Bramall Lane waited with bated breath for the first derby of the season to explode into life but in truth, the opening 45 minutes were rather subdued. No Sheffield United player had played in a Steel City derby before but they did hold their own in that first half, albeit without creating any clearcut opportunities.
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The only meaningful flashpoint was a booking for the Wednesday captain, Barry Bannan, after his tackle on Harrison Burrows caused a brief melee with half-time approaching. But United returned from the break with greater purpose and five minutes after the restart, took the lead.
The hosts’ well-worked corner routine saw Gus Hamer feed the ball to Callum O’Hare, before he slipped in Campbell to tuck the ball under James Beadle and break the deadlock. That left Wednesday facing a menacing prospect to rescue anything from the game, with the Blades on a run of five straight home clean sheets at Bramall Lane.
And the hosts’ impressive resilience defensively meant you felt they always had Wednesday at arm’s length. Anthony Musaba came close for the visitors in the final quarter as his driving run was halted by a superb block from Femi Seriki but that was as good as it got for the visitors as the Blades reaffirmed their position as the superior side in Sheffield.
