Player Ratings: Sheffield United 1-0 Oxford (A)

The ratings from Riley as the Blades pick up their first win of the season.

Riley Roberts

Michael Cooper - 6

Kept a clean sheet and managed to deal with everything he had to face (only 3 shots on target). Didn’t feel wholly comfortable when Oxford were hitting balls into the box, but he did just enough each time

Japhet Tanganga - 6

Won his share in the air and made a big block in the 1st half. Much improved from last time out.

Mark McGuinness - 7

Colossal in the box, winning everything when we were under pressure. Suited him being able to camp in the box and head stuff away.

Ben Mee - 5

I’m aware this might seem a little harsh, but for a large part of the gam,e I was unimpressed. His passing, especially in the 1st half, was really poor, and I didn’t feel as if he was as dominant as his CB mates. Did get better as the game went on.

Chiedozie Ogbene - 5

Didn’t look like beating his man all afternoon, that was, until it really mattered. It wasn’t a great performance at all, but you have to reward the assist for the winner, so that’s what I’ll do.

Harrison Burrows - 4

Didn’t have his most impactful game, and was often left pinned in our own half as Oxford dominated at times. Made a couple of rash decisions to step out of the defensive line and was booked for a very poorly judged challenge.

Djibril Soumare - 3

Started off busy, and I think that was confused for good. He then waned even further and struggled to have any impact in the middle of the park

Sydie Peck - 6

Had a bit of a struggle when Soumare went off the boil towards the end of the 1st half, leaving him under too much pressure, but performed at about his best level this season on the whole, wriggling out of pressure, and getting through some defensive work towards the end.

Callum O’Hare - 7

MOTM. Got the winner with a brilliant finish and generally buzzed around in a positive manner. Saw less of the “pushed off the ball too easily” O’Hare and more of the “busy, smart link player” O’Hare.

Gustavo Hamer - 5

Didn’t have his most impactful game, though he created the best chance of the 1st half with a lovely pass into Campbell, who should’ve done better. The rest of his actions saw him play some wayward passes while still being mostly comfortable.

Tyrese Campbell - 5

Utilised as a target man, which he obviously is not, he didn’t always manage to get that part right, but was positive in his runs. Still need to see more from him.

Average rating - 5.36

(I daren’t check to see if this is the best of the season)

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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.