“We Have to Own That” – Chris Wilder Reacts as Sheffield United Collapse to Late Defeat Against Plymouth | OneFootball

Sheffield United’s season took another dismal turn on Saturday lunchtime as they suffered a third consecutive defeat, this time at the hands of the Championship’s bottom side Plymouth Argyle.

Despite taking a first-half lead through Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, the Blades surrendered momentum and eventually fell to a 2-1 loss in a disheartening collapse at Home Park.

In a cagey opening period that lacked early goalmouth action, it was United who made the breakthrough in the 44th minute. A poor Plymouth clearance was pounced upon by Gustavo Hamer, who quickly shifted the ball wide to Rak-Sakyi. The winger produced a moment of brilliance, twisting Ogbeta inside out before rifling a left-footed strike into the far corner, leaving Conor Hazard helpless in the Argyle goal.

Rak-Sakyi nearly doubled his tally just six minutes after the interval, finding space just inside the box after a clever through-ball from youngster Peck. However, Hazard reacted brilliantly, getting down low to keep his side in the contest with a strong save.

Plymouth, however, began to grow into the game. On 64 minutes, Adam Randell’s free-kick caused chaos in the United box. Hardie’s effort on the spin clipped the bar, and the warning signs were clear.

The home side continued to press, with Bundu in particular a constant menace. He shrugged off Robinson and nearly created the equaliser, only for a last-ditch tackle by Souza to deny him. Unfortunately for United, Souza was injured in the process and had to be replaced by Hamza Choudhury.

From the resulting corner, Randell whipped the ball back into the danger zone. A volleyed effort from the edge of the box deflected and landed at the feet of Hardie, who calmly slotted past Cooper to make it 1-1.

With time ticking away and Sheffield United looking increasingly passive, Plymouth seized their opportunity. In the 87th minute, Bali Mumba surged down the left and delivered a wicked cross. Robinson’s attempted clearance only diverted the ball into the path of Muhamed Tijani, who pounced with a clinical finish to complete the comeback and crucially secure all three points for the hosts.

Sheffield United Manager’s Reaction to Third Defeat In A Row

Jesurun Rak-Sakyi puts Sheffield United in front against Plymouth Argyle. (Image Credit: Sheffield United Football Club).

A frustrated Chris Wilder did not hold back in his post-match assessment, acknowledging the damage this result could have on United’s promotion hopes. “You can’t lose today and expect to be in the mix to get out of the division,” he admitted.

“You can’t lose last weekend. You can in a way but you’ve got to recover and win the next two and you can’t lose three in a row and expect to get out of the division. We put ourselves in a great position after the Coventry game and basically we’ve let it slip so we have to own that and I and the players have to take responsibility for an awfully poor week in terms of results.”

The manager also rejected the suggestion that his players were mentally fatigued, “No, I don’t think they played mentally fatigued. We controlled the game, especially in the second half we had enough of the play, but we have to go and fight that ambition and quality to find that second goal.”

“We had enough opportunities. We got the ball into the areas we wanted to get it in to but got to go and get that second goal because as long as it’s 1-0 anything can happen. I never felt they were mentally tired, they didn’t look it. We weren’t on the ropes for any part of that game. I didn’t feel that last bit was coming. It’s just come from nowhere,” he added.

Sheffield United now need a miracle in order to gain automatic promotion, sitting five points behind both Leeds United and Burnley with just four games to go. The Blades are next in action on Good Friday when they host Cardiff City, and United will certainly need more than a “good” Friday in terms of results if they are to lift the mood among the supporters.