Leyton Orient 1 Sheff Utd 1: Blades reach play-offs with help from Harris
THE point earned at Brisbane Road after a hard-fought contest was enough to secure Sheffield United’s place in the end-of-season play-offs.
With Fabio Liverani’s side in trouble at the bottom of the table, picking up a draw might have seemed a less than arduous task.
However, this was far from the case and Orient’s decision to cut ticket prices resulted in a larger crowd and more vocal support for the hosts.
United created the first two real openings of note, but it was surprisingly squandered by Jason Holt.
The second opportunity fell the way of Jamie Murphy, but his low drive from just outside the penalty area appeared to bobble off the uneven playing surface before flashing just wide.
Chris Dagnall was a constant danger to the visitors and on the half-hour mark his shot from an acute angle drew a good save from Blades’ goalkeeper Mark Howard.
United almost took the lead after breaking at speed following an Orient corner, but Murphy – after an exchange of passes with Che Adams – was denied by Alex Cisak.
Orient eventually took the lead, on 73 minutes, from a corner taken by Dean Cox, which saw Mathieu Baudry rise the highest to head into the net.
It did not take Nigel Clough’s side long to respond, Bob Harris marking his return from injury with a fearsome shot six minutes later, which took a deflection, wrong-footing Cisak and gaining deserved parity for the visitors.
Leyton Orient: Cisak, Cuthbert, Baudry, Clarke, Omozusi, Batt, Bartley, James, Cox, Simpson, Dagnall. Unused substitutes: Woods, Lowry, Wright, Taylor, Hedges, McAnuff, Mooney.
Sheffield United: Howard, Harris, Brayford, Basham, Murphy, Baxter, Coutts, Freeman, Adams, S.Davies, Holt.Unused substitutes: Alcock, Doyle, Scougall, Willis, B Davies, Reed, Calvert-Lewin.
Referee: S Stockbridge (Tyne and Wear).