Sheffield United picked up the league double in the Steel City Derby on Sunday lunchtime as Chris Wilder’s Blades got the better of Danny Rohl’s Sheffield Wednesday by a single goal.
As is often the case in a contest that has huge bragging rights on the line, the clash itself was cagey and attritional at points, with only five shots on target registered by both sides at Hillsborough.
Thankfully for the promotion-hungry Blades, one of their on-target efforts would trickle in courtesy of Rhian Brewster, with the number seven one standout performer that would help his side go joint top of the Championship with Yorkshire foes Leeds United.
Brewster's game-changing performance vs Wednesday
Indeed, Wilder would elect to start the ex-Liverpool forward for this full-blooded affair ahead of Callum O’Hare, which was a decision that proved to be a masterstroke come full-time.
The injury-prone attacker is enjoying his finest spell in a Blades shirt to date at the moment, with this late tap-in taking his second-tier goal haul for the campaign up to two alongside his three assists.
Not the most memorable strike in terms of quality, but the effort – which was all Tyrese Campbell’s making down the wing – would still send the Blades masses into pandemonium at Hillsborough, knowing their title charge remains on.
But, although Brewster would steal all the headlines at the end with this invaluable contribution, there were other faces in South Yorkshire who stood out even more, including this defender who could now be deemed as undroppable moving forward.
The Sheffield United star who is now undroppable
Whilst certain positions in Wilder’s XI are fixed now, with Michael Cooper an absolute shoo-in in-between the sticks among other names, the right-back position is still very much up for grabs.
With both Harry Clarke and Alfie Gilchrist absent for the Steel City Derby, Wilder would hand Femi Seriki only his fourth start of the Championship season to try and make up for these woes, which was another close call the United boss got spot on.
Minutes played
90
Touches
54
Accurate passes
17/20 (85%)
Key passes
1
Accurate long balls
3/4
Successful dribbles
4/6
Clearances
4
Tackles
4
Total duels won
11/21
The 57-year-old wouldn’t have felt any worry with Seriki at the right-back spot despite the occasion, having seen him win five duels against Bristol City just the league match before, only for him to put in even more of a determined and dogged effort against Rohl’s hosts when glancing at the table above.
Across the course of the 90 minutes, the Manchester-born 21-year-old won a steep 11 duels for his side when they were under the cosh, on top of also relieving danger with some sprints in attack, leading to four successful dribbles also coming his way before the high-stakes game was done and dusted.
Having battled back from his own injury concerns, the up-and-coming Blades prospect will hope he’s gifted an extended run in the main team now as Wilder’s first-choice right-back, with Sheffield Star journalist Danny Hall even gifting Seriki a high 8/10 rating post-match.
United will know the win wasn’t clinched in the prettiest of manners, but another three points being tallied up on the board keeps the title race ticking over for another day, as the red and white half of South Yorkshire aim to take Leeds all the way.
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