Sheffield United 3-0 Bristol City
Riley Roberts with the final player ratings from Bramall Lane this season, as the Blades book themselves a date at Wembley.
Riley Roberts:
Michael Cooper – 7
Dealt with some venomous efforts and slight deflections to keep no fewer than 6 attempts on target out of his goal. An impressive display.
Hamza Choudhury – 6
Some sloppy passes in the first half saw him give away possession cheaply in our own half, but one thing that was unfaultable throughout was his tackling as he made some excellent sliding challenges to regain possession.
Anel Ahmedhodzic – 7
Saw a lot less action than you’d expect with Bristol City needing goals but looked assured all night and never really put a foot wrong.
Jack Robinson – 7
Almost the exact same story for Robbo, who was never in danger and did his job comfortably.
Harrison Burrows – 8
Very nearly got his third goal against Bristol City this season when an early right-footed effort deflected wide, but had to settle for two assists instead, both from corners, before an excellent dummy for the 3rd goal. Played a direct part in 4/6 goals in the tie, 5/6 if you count the dummy.
Andre Brooks – 5
Didn’t quite have the desired effect in attack but was well placed to stop Bristol city progressing down the wing a few times with some nice tackles. Wouldn’t be opposed to seeing him in the XI at Wembley, though I think it’s unlikely.
Sydie Peck – 4
Went goal hunting again but come up unsuccessful once more, though he now has the opportunity to do the funniest thing. Didn’t have stellar performance here though as he was often beaten in 50/50 challenges with a Bristol City breakaway coming as a result on one occasion.
Vini Souza – 8
Made a couple of big challenges early, and that set the tone for a top performance where he seemed back at his best, hunting down opposition midfielders and often coming away with the ball.
Gustavo Hamer – 6
Seemingly enjoyed having a bit of freedom with the scoreline already at 3-0 as he attempted some rather ambitious passes early on which didn’t work out, but improved as the game went on, scoring with a deflected effort from that delightful corner routine.
Kieffer Moore – 7
Once again he did the big man job perfectly, winning aerial battles and flicking the ball on, though these flick-ons were rarely met by a teammate. Scored the opener with a big header and can have very few complaints about his performance.
Tom Cannon - 4
Squandered a couple of opportunities, including one where he nicked it off the centre-half and still somehow didn’t manage to get anything more than a blocked shot. Seems to be desperately low on confidence.
Average rating – 6.27
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.