Lincoln, 3-0 (H)
After a three-week international break, no one really knew what to expect from this one. Would we finally see an improved United? For 40-odd minutes, that definitely wasn’t the case, with no shots in the box before Bamford’s opener. The second half was better, though, with Chong and Bamford both adding brilliant finishes to give us our biggest win of the season.
Michael Cooper - 6
Cooper didn’t have much to do, but the one save he did have to make was a great reflex stop.
Hamza Choudhury - 6
Solid enough display from all of the backline, and Choudhury was no exception. Lincoln didn’t create much all game.
Japhet Tanganga - 7
Lincoln’s attack have caused plenty of teams in the division problems this season when they go direct, but Tanganga was assured throughout.
Liam Kitching - 6
Again looked ambitious with his passing, though the execution was hit and miss, especially early doors. He picked up as the team did, though.
Sam McCallum - 5
Started the game very poorly, giving the ball away far too cheaply, and against better opposition that may well have been costly. He did improve, though, in fairness, picking up the assist for the opener.
Joe Rothwell - 5
Another who probably had a decent game on the whole, but I find it hard to ignore a start where he was as ineffective as he was.
Sydie Peck - 5
United enjoyed more possession than usual in this one, and while that typically suits Peck, I don’t think he had his best day here. For all the ball he saw, much of it went sideways rather than forwards.
Tahith Chong - 7
Starting for the first time this season, Chong had quite clearly his best performance in red and white. His finish was top drawer, but his general play was good too, as he always looked to drive forward with the ball.
Ben Brereton-Díaz - 6
Another who looked threatening when he was able to run into space. BBD picked up his first goal contribution of his third spell with a brilliant cross to pick out Bamford for the third.
Tom Cannon - 5
Didn’t make the most of his opportunities with the ball, but his work rate never faltered and he gave the Lincoln defence something to think about throughout.
Patrick Bamford - 8
Two shots, two goals, two excellent finishes for Bamford. The third goal was really the best of Bamford: expert movement to evade two defenders before delightfully stroking it home with his weaker foot.
Average rating - 6.00
Portsmouth, 2-3 (A)
Could you ever find five minutes that sum up supporting Sheffield United more than the opponents scoring a worldie and then us getting a man sent off? I thought we actually looked a bit more purposeful with the ball before the red, with a clear focus on getting it wide and putting balls into the box, but Pompey had an easy time getting through us and a side with more quality might have scored before they did. The second-half fightback was commendable, but we stay equidistant between the bottom three and top eight after our fourth loss in six.
Michael Cooper - 5
Hard to be too kind to the keeper when we concede three, but I don’t think there was much he could’ve done about the goals, and he made a few nice claims from balls into the box.
Hamza Choudhury - 2
Had a wonderfully up-and-down game, playing some lovely passes, then getting skinned, then another lovely pass, then sent off. It was a harsh red, but it still massively impacted our chances of getting anything from the game.
Japhet Tanganga - 6
Thought he was once again more than solid in his duties, again up against a massive centre-forward, and he kickstarted United’s fightback with a really cool left-footed volley. Had we not conceded three, he’d be higher.
Liam Kitching - 5
Played some nice switches of play out to the right-hand side, especially in the first half. He came under a bit of fire for his pass leading to the winner, but I thought it was indicative that, even with 10 men, we were trying to win the game, and I’ve no complaints about that myself.
Sam McCallum - 4
Didn’t feel like he was ever really at ease in the game. Had a couple of moments where he was too hesitant to make a tackle and Pompey were able to keep the ball in good areas. Also conceded possession deep in our own half for a Pompey chance, though he was thrown under the bus a little by Kitching.
Joe Rothwell - 5
Both teams routinely went long in this game, and that’s never going to suit your technical midfield players. A victim of our tactical set-up.
Sydie Peck - 6
Unsurprisingly seemed well up for the fight when it felt like the whole world was against us at 2-0 and 11 v 10. He picked up plenty of loose balls in that second half.
Tahith Chong - 4
Had all the right desire as he got at his man and put crosses into the box in the first half, but was basically a cone defensively when moved to RWB after the sending-off.
Ben Brereton-Díaz - 5
Subbed at half-time, though I thought he had some nice touches despite not seeing much of the ball.
Tom Cannon - 6
Headed in the equaliser and, in all fairness, absolutely ran himself into the ground. I don’t think his general play was anything to write home about, but a goal and a good shift is hard to fault.
Patrick Bamford - 4
Missed a big chance at 0-0, though it wasn’t as easy as the stats may suggest given he was obviously expecting Cannon to get a touch. Didn’t have much of an impact.
Subs
Kalvin Phillips - 6
Looked well up for it when he came on. Won the ball plenty in midfield and it was his corner that was turned in by Cannon. Clearly has the quality to make stuff happen when he’s on the pitch.
Average rating - 4.83
Ratings system:
0 – Reserved for anyone who has a wayward effort at goal smash me in the face, unlikely to ever happen.
1 – Worst of the worst. Saved for disastrous performances, with result-altering mistakes.
2 – A terrible performance. Performances where a player offers very little and has many unsuccessful actions, ultimately proving to be a major detriment to the team’s overall performance.
3 – A bad performance. Negative contribution. Like a 2, just a bit less rubbish.
4 – A below-average performance. Not necessarily having a negative impact on the game; it could just be a player who struggled to impact the game at all.
5 – The baseline rating. All players go into a game starting on a 5 — it’s bang average, given out for an unremarkable yet solid performance, for a postman delivering the post.
6 – A decent performance. A player who gets a 6 has positively contributed to the game, and at the very least has had some impressive moments while being generally solid outside of them.
7 – A good performance. Awarded for players who had a noticeable positive impact on the game.
8 – A very good performance. A player who made significant contributions to the outcome of the game with their performance and consistently displayed a high level throughout.
9 – An outstanding performance. To score as high as a 9, a player needs to be dominant throughout the match, performing at a level well above the standard and/or making multiple game-changing contributions.
10 – A perfect 10, unlikely to ever see the light of day as nobody has a flawless game. For me to even think about giving out a 10 it would probably have to be a player doing something historic or unheard of.