Player Ratings: Sheffield United 1-2 Middlesbrough

Riley’s ratings after the first home defeat in quite some time.

Riley Roberts

Michael Cooper - 4

Made a pair of decent saves from early headers, but had a torrid night in the distribution department, with stray passes inviting pressure onto us as we somewhat lost control of the game at 0-1, and 0-2.

Femi Seriki - 5

Looked menacing as ever as he drove forwards with the ball and looked to go at his man, but just never quite found the big moment for any of his touches to lead to much more than a half chance.

Japhet Tanganga - 4

Struggled as he was pulled out of position by Boro’s free flowing attack, and gave away a couple of cheap fouls that made it look as though he was never fully at ease in the game.

Tyler Bindon - 5

Snuffed out danger in the box a few times displaying some good reactions to clear Boro crosses, but made a big decision to step up for which he was punished, leaving a chasm behind him which Boro exploited to take the lead.

Harrison Burrows - 4

Generally saw Whittaker get the better of him, while offering little threat at the other end of the pitch.

Oliver Arblaster - 4

I feel like the reaction to this one is a little OTT. He made a couple of sloppy mistakes in possession, but on one of those occasions, recovered possession on the edge of our own box. Don’t think it was some outright disaster like some have said.

Sydie Peck - 3

Wasteful with the ball and not particularly effective without it, Peck’s game was summed up by an early pass rolling straight under his foot

Andre Brooks - 7

Constantly running at defenders with pace, looking to get shots off. His energy was our main threat for most of the game and it was a truly determined performance, undeserving of being on the losing side, even without a significant goal contribution.

Callum O’Hare - 4

A tough job as he didn’t see all that much of the ball, but failed to really impact the game overall, with his cross/shot that almost found Bamford his best contribution. Maybe a little indecision from O’Hare in that action was the difference.

Gustavo Hamer - 6

Had some very poor moments as he played over-nonchalantly in our own half at times and was a bit of a cone defensively, but came close to getting us on the scoresheet twice, and then played a huge hand in the goal we did get with a delightful pass.

Patrick Bamford - 5

Feels harsh considering he scored, but I felt as if he never really got going in the game as he usually does, with his chest downs often leading to the defender taking back the ball, and Bamford on the deck calling for a foul that never was.

Average rating - 4.64

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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.