Sheffield United 2-0 Plymouth Argyle: Blades Go Top With Ninth Home Clean Sheet and Win of Season | OneFootball

Despite a below-par Sheffield United performance, the Blades managed to churn out a 2-0 win over Plymouth Argyle at Bramall Lane.

Gustavo Hamer gave the Blades the lead on 19 minutes with his volley from outside of the penalty area. But, the home side had to wait until the 88th minute to extend their lead thanks to a powerful and precise Kieffer Moore penalty.

With a few players carrying minor injuries, Chris Wilder made two changes to the starting eleven against Plymouth. Vinicius Souza was not risked at all due to his hamstring issue, Tom Davies took his place in the team. Ryan Oné was given a surprise start in favour of Rhian Brewster who dropped to the bench.

Lineups

Blades: Cooper, Gilchrist, Souttar, Hamer, O’Hare (Brewster 86), Rak-Sakyi (Shackleton 52), Burrows (McCallum 52), Robinson, T. Davies (Norrington-Davies 89), Oné (Moore 52), Peck.

Unused: A. Davies, Brewster, Baptiste, Brooks, Blacker.

Plymouth: Grimshaw, Mumba, Szűcs, Hardie (Gray 74), Obafemi (Wright 80), Bundu (Issaka 80), Gibson, Gyabi (Forshaw 74), Randell, Galloway, Al Hajj

Unused: Hazard, Ogbeta, Houghton, Pleguezuelo, Pálsson.

First Half

Plymouth Argyle made the better start to the game and they perhaps should’ve done better when Obafemi latched onto a cross to the far post in the 13th minute, only for him to fail to divert his effort goalwards.

A few minutes later, Sheffield United took the lead when a Harrison Burrows corner was cleared to the edge of the box and the ball was struck on the volley from Gustavo Hamer who fired the ball into the back of the net on 19 minutes.

Before the break, the Blades needed a bit of luck and a save from Michael Cooper to maintain their lead. Firstly, Obafemi caused huge problems down the left flank as he set up Al Hajj with his centred shot being saved by Cooper. A couple of minutes later, Cooper was brought into action at his near post through Hardie, and the ball ricocheted to Gyabi who had virtually an open goal to aim at, but he spooned his effort way over the bar.

Gustavo Hamer giving Sheffield United the lead against Plymouth Argyle with his volley from the edge of the box. (Image Credit: Sheffield United Football Club).

Second Half

Seven minutes into the second half, Chris Wilder made a triple change: Sam McCallum, Kieffer Moore and Jamie Shackleton were introduced for Harrison Burrows, Ryan Oné and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi. But those changes didn’t bring about an instant impact, as it looked as though United switched to a back five. In spite of that, they had the woodwork to thank for keeping it at 1-0, in the 55th minute, with captain Lewis Gibson hitting the post with a header.

Cooper came to the rescue again when Hardie’s close range header looked destined for the bottom left corner after the hour mark.

But in the 88th minute, the Blades made sure there would be no late scares as Tom Davies won a penalty which Kieffer Moore took confidently and he powered it low and hard into the middle of the goal as the keeper dived to side.

Although it wasn’t the best performance from United, the three points ensured the Blades would go back to the top of the league, and there’s now a three point gap to second place Leeds United, and a five point gap to third place Sunderland.