Chesterfield 1-4 Sheffield United: Blades Maintain Winning Run in Pre-season As New Signing Shines | OneFootball

It was another resounding win for Sheffield United as they thumped Chesterfield 4-1 in their fourth pre-season game under Ruben Selles.

Jefferson Caceres opened the scoring within minutes of the kick-off, and then Ehije Success Ukaki swiftly followed, with Louie Barry claiming the assists for both. With half an hour on the clock, Gustavo Hamer showed off his typical exquisite dead-ball technique, whipping in a teasing free-kick from the left which enticed the keeper to come out, but Anel Ahmedhodzic rose highest to nod the ball into an empty net.

The home side got in on the action as a terrible mistake at the back saw Lee Bonis eventually slot the ball past Cooper. But, the Blades didn’t let up in the second half and Tom Cannon restored their three-goal advantage less than ten minutes into the second half.

Lineups

Chesterfield: Hemming, Daley-Campbell (Sheckleford 89), Dunkley, McFadzean, Gordon (Lewis 79), Fleck (Butterfield 89), Stirk (Cook 89), Markanday (Elliott 89), Duffy (Colclough 64), Dobra (Naylor 79), Bonis (Grigg 79).

Blades: Cooper, McCallum (Burrows 70), Cannon (Campbell 70), Hamer (O’Hare 45), Ahmedhodzic (Norrington-Davies 45), Ukaki (Brooks 70), Caceres (Peck 70), Barry (One 63), Curtis (Seriki 70), Hampson (Easton 70), Sasnauskas (Bindon 70).

Unused: Grbic, Faxon, Moore, Beattie.

First Half

It took just four minutes for the Blades to stamp their authority on the match, as Louie Barry’s first action as a new United player was to play a smart cut-back to Jefferson Caceres who coolly finished the move to open the scoring.

The visitors were immediately on the front foot again, with Tom Cannon testing Spireites goalkeeper Zach Hemming, who did well to tip his low drive around the post. But there was no stopping the second goal, which arrived just nine minutes later. Barry was again the creator, this time picking out Ukaki with a measured pass that the right-winger tucked away with composure, mirroring Caceres’ opener.

Despite the scoreline, Chesterfield showed flashes of quality and controlled possession in patches, but United remained clinical. On 32 minutes, Gustavo Hamer’s whipped inswinging free-kick was met by captain Anel Ahmedhodzic, who beat Hemming to the delivery and headed home United’s third.

The hosts threatened to pull one back before the break, with Chey Dunkley nodding just wide from Dylan Duffy’s corner. Then came their best moment of the half: Dilan Markanday broke through the Blades’ backline after a poor pass from Sasnauskas, but he was denied by Michael Cooper, however, the rebound fell kindly to Liam Bonis, who made no mistake to give Chesterfield a glimmer of hope at 3-1.

Bonis thought he’d grabbed a quickfire brace, finishing another rebound after Cooper parried Duffy’s strike, but the linesman’s flag cut short his celebrations.

Second Half

Any thoughts of a Chesterfield comeback were swiftly dashed after the interval. Just seven minutes into the second half, half-time substitute Callum O’Hare squared for Tom Cannon, who finished first-time into the roof of the net to make it 4-1 and re-establish United’s three-goal cushion.

While Chesterfield kept pushing, with Dobra having a couple of half-chances, United remained dominant. The game fizzled out following a wave of substitutions from both sides. Ryan Oné struck the post, while Harrison Burrows saw a well-hit free-kick blocked before firing a follow-up straight into the wall again. Brooks also had a golden chance late on after some excellent work from Oné driving to the byline, but the winger opposite to him blazed over from a few yards out, though the ball was behind Brooks in fairness.

This win marks four wins from four so far in pre-season. The Blades are set to have at least another pre-season game before the start of the Championship in a couple of weeks time.