The Sporting Hack

Sheffield United 1-0 Stevenage (Agg.1-0) Npower League 1 play-off semi-final second leg. Bramall Lane Attendance: 21182 Sheffield United booked their place in the League 1 play-off final and a potential Yorkshire derby against Huddersfield Town at Wembley.   The Blades edged past Stevenage in a nervy re-run of Friday night’s drab goalless semi-final first leg, courtesy of Chris Porter’s late header (right) . The fact that Danny Wilson’s men missed a spark was understandable as they relied heavily on the lone forward Porter with James Beattie, Richard Cresswell and Will Hoskins all out through suspension or injuries. After one of the poorest first halves of football in recent memory, both sides came out after the break galvanised by the fact that they had 45 minutes to create something meaningful or face extending the tedium. Thank goodness then for Luke Freeman, the Stevenage midfielder, who, by looking inventive and industrious in equal measure, proved to be t...

Sheffield United 4-1 Chesterfield Bramall Lane, npower League 1 Att: 20,159 Sheffield United swapped places with Steel City rivals Wednesday by seeing off Chesterfield thanks to a blistering second-half hat-trick from Ched Evans (right). The Welshman took his tally for the season to 30 goals and saw United climb to 2 nd in their bid to nick the other automatic spot, while leaving John Sheridan’s men rock bottom and taking the gloss off their week following Sunday’s Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final win at Wembley. The probability of these sides being two divisions apart next season increased dramatically thanks to the former Manchester City striker. However, the visitors were more than good value for parity at the break, as their buoyant mood followed on from the weekend to frustrate the hosts, and the majority of the 20000 inside Bramall Lane. It was left to Lee Williamson to break the deadlock in emphatic fashion when he volleyed a scorcher in to the roof of the net 38 minutes i...

Sheffield United 3-0 Wycombe Wanderers npower League 1, Bramall Lane, Attendance: 17,165 Loan signing Will Hoskins came off the bench on his Sheffield United home debut to break the stubborn resilience of relegation threatened Wycombe. The introduction of the former Rotherham United striker (right) on his return to South Yorkshire provided fresh impetus to a frustrated Blades outfit and triggered further strikes from his forward partners Ched Evans and Chris Porter. The win moved United up to third place within a point of city rivals Wednesday - who fell at Exeter – and with two games in hand. It was no less than Danny Wilson’s men deserved too, accounting for 70% of possession, as the Buckinghamshire side invited wave after wave of pressure from the first minute. Chances came with an alarming regularity in the first period, but forcing Wanderers ‘keeper Nikki Bull into anything strenuous seemed a bridge too far. Despite Scottish winger Ryan Flynn replacing the ineffectual Le...