Sheffield United 1 Watford 0: Callum O'Hare goal lifts Blades off foot of Championship table
Sheffield United elevated themselves from the foot of the Championship table with a 1-0 win over Watford.
Fans may well have feared the worst prior to kick-off, when it was confirmed Tom Davies and Gustavo Hamer would miss out through injury.
The Blades were also facing a Watford side hoping for a ‘new manager bounce’ after putting Javi Gracia in the dugout for a second time.
A lacklustre first-half display did little for the optimism inside Bramall Lane, but Sheffield United were rewarded for the uptick in their tempo after the break.
Callum O’Hare bundled home to finish off a move he started and give the Blades a crucial three points.
First half
Neither box was penetrated in the opening exchanges, but Sam McCallum did come close with a dipping effort from distance that narrowly dropped over the crossbar.
The game was then stopped two minutes in, as the entirety of Bramall Lane paid tribute to Blades hero George Baldock. Last week marked a year since the untimely death of the popular right-back, who wore the Sheffield United number two shirt with distinction.
Not only were chances at a premium early on, space was too. Sheffield United set up narrowly out of possession, pressing in packs to stem Watford’s flow as they looked to move forward. The Hornets did the same, therefore advancing initially proved difficult for both sides.
Watford’s first effort, like Sheffield United’s, came from distance. Imran Louza cut in the from the left and unleashed a piledriver that whistled past the post.
McCallum was a bright spark early on but it was not just his fleet-footed nature causing problems. A long-throw hurled into the box caused chaos and the Hornets had to frantically scramble away.
Barely a minute later, the left wing-back whipped in an inch-perfect cross Mark McGuinness could not convert at the back post.
The game continued to have McCallum at the heart of it and the former Norwich City man made a crucial interception to prevent Moussa Sissoko getting through on goal.
Luca Kjerrumgaard did manage to get a shot away after finding a pocket of space, but could only muster a tame shot Michael Cooper held with ease.
The pace of the first half continued to pick up and McGuinness was given another chance to open the scoring. Louie Barry was the provider this time, but the target’s header was pushed away by Egil Selvik.
Watford were the next to threaten as the affair became increasingly back and forth. Caleb Wiley delivered from the left for Kjerrumgaard, who failed to generate enough power to have Cooper scrambling.
The pendulum continued to swing from one side to another as deliveries into the box emerged as the primary source of opportunities. O’Hare picked out Japhet Tanganga, who saw his powerful header scooped away at the near post.
As far as opportunities went, the first half was close. However, Watford’s domination of possession was ringing alarm bells in the stands.
An unease was sweeping across Bramall Lane, with the Blades simply not playing like the home team sat against a side sat unremarkably in mid-table.
Second half
Chris Wilder’s side emerged from the interval looking bright, although soon found themselves carved open by the Hornets. Wiley was threaded through and only had Cooper to beat, only to snatch at the shot and skew wide.
It was then Watford’s turn to have a lucky escape, as Tanganga was denied by Selvik at point blank range after latching on to a loose ball.
Wind started to gather behind Sheffield United sails and McCallum had Selvik at full stretch with a free-kick effort. Tanganga then angled a shot towards the near post that had the goalkeeper beaten but found the side-netting.
The breakthrough soon came, as the Blades forced another opening and this time made the visitors pay.
A neat exchange between Tanganga and O’Hare allowed the latter to cross for Campbell, who was thwarted. The ball was only parried as far as Andre Brooks, who sent it back across goal for O’Hare to finish off what he started.
The goal was followed by a lull in proceedings, as Sheffield United’s attacking intensity dropped and Watford struggled to move through the gears.
While the Blades did not look particularly threatening, they did not look threatened either.
It always appeared likely Watford would rally late on and as the full-time whistle approached, Gracia’s men looked to up the ante.
For the most part, Sheffield United were resolute defensively and afforded Watford little space in which to operate.
However, the Hornets looked set to equalise when Louza pulled the trigger on the swivel with red and white bodies nowhere near. Cooper could not get the near the shot but to the relief of the Bramall Lane faithful, it shook the crossbar rather than the back of the net.
Watford squandered another chance in the dying embers as Kevin Keben poked wide from just yards out.