Sheffield United 1 Watford 0: Blades pass character test by grinding out vital first home win
It started off as a high-quality game and ended quite a scrappy and fractious one, but you could never take your eyes off it. And the relief at the final whistle was palpable as they closed out a 1-0 win they had been holding onto for more than 90 minutes of football.
It all kicked off the the third added minute with Gustavo Hamer clattering through Tom Dele-Bashiru as former Blade Daniel Jebbison clashed with current one Harry Souttar on the halfway line, then again at the final whistle.
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Hide AdIt only added to the feeling that this was a proper Championship game and for a side recently returned to the division, a proper test.
Kieffer Moore missed a penalty and wasted a golden opportunity to wrap things up in the 81st minute, whilst Ryan Andrews hit a post for Watford.
They will be aggrieved to have lost but seeing the Blades have to scrap so hard for the three points will only have made it sweeter.
Manager Chris Wilder spoke on Friday about the commitment in his reshaped but words are cheap, on Sunday they went out and proved it.
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Hide AdThe Blades got off to a great start, Callum O'Hare's persistence putting them in front inside two minutes.


When he got to the byline he was knocked off his stride by Yasser Larouci but continued playing, hitting the ball across and watching it bounce in off Daniel Bachmann's backside.
Watford actually looked the more threatening in the early stage, particularly when they quickly got the ball wide or over the top with longer ball.
Former Blade Larouci was the man over when Giorgi Chakvetadze flicked the ball on, and won a corner. Vakoun Bayo got in behind down the middle but with Harry Souttar at his back, fluffed the attempted lob.
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Hide AdIn between time it took a god Harrison Burrows interception to stop Ryan Andrews breaking away down the right.


But in the 17th minute it looked like it might count for nothing as Andrew Kitchen pointed to the spot when Larouci fouled captain Oliver Arblaster as he ran onto a Moore pass. The striker took the penalty kick but it did not have the power to match the placement and Bachmann stretched well low to his left to keep the score at 1-0.
It kept a good game very interesting.
A terrible roll out by Bachmann gave Hamer a shooting chance, only for the goalkeeper to get back and save, and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi was dangerous on the opposite, right, wing, a beautiful piece of skill getting him past Larouci, only for the shot to be blocked.
Hamer forced a save after a good run.


But the Hornets still had their sting and Anel Ahmedhozic, whose performances were so milky in the second half of the season and who many had expected to leave in the summer drew the applause of the fans when he produced a big tackle after chasing Bayo on another breakaway.
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Hide AdMoussa Sissoko got away with one right at the end of the half when he pulled at O'Hare's ankle in a similar area to where he had scored the goal from, but the attacker was probably blocking the view of both the referee and the linesman.
Sheffield United stepped it up in the second half, Rak-Sakyi having a shot deflected over after 25 seconds, but could not find a second goal.
Hamer steered a shot wide with a reflex action. When he made space for something more considered but hit his shot off target. O'Hare are caught a volley sweetly but hit a defender.
WIlder refreshed both his full-backs and Jamie Shackleton enjoyed a decent debut an forced a save, whereas Sam McCallum played a lovely ball down the line to set Moore free.
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Hide AdBut the time he took the ball around the goalkeeper and a defender, Hamer was much the better option but he shot instead and saw it smothered.
The Blades had needed that because having hit a post through Ryan Andrews in the 62nd minute, Watford still posed a clear and present danger. Vinicius Souza had ran himself into cramp trying to repel it.
Bringing on Sydie Peck for O'Hare with 87 minutes on the clock was a sign that Wilder knew the game still have to be locked down, although the last Blades touch of the game was a shot from a tight angle by the midfielder.
The roars as the final whistle blew were a mixture of relief and pride at a job well done.
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Hide Ad"Happy hour again" blared the public address system. It has been a long time in coming.
Sheffield United: Cooper; Gilchrist (Shackleton 59), Ahmedhodxic, Souttar, Burrows; (McCallum 64), Rak-Sakyi, Arblaster, Souza, Hamer; O'Hare (Peck 87); Moore (Brewster 87). Unused substitutes: Davies, Campbell, Norrington-Davies, One, Sachdev.
Watford: Bachmann; Pollock, Sierralta, Morris; Andrews, Sissoko, Dele-Bashiru, Larouci (Sema 52); Kayembe, Chakvetadze (Ince 79); Bayo (Jebbison 69). Unused substitutes: Porteous, Rajovic, Vata, Bond, Baah, Ebosele.
Referee: A Kitchen (Durham).
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