Sheffield United 3 Blackburn Rovers 2: Never-say-die Blades rewarded with trip to Wembley

Sammie Szmodics punished the Blades for a period of sloppiness at Blackburn's end, but the punishment ought to have been harsher.

Ryan Hedges hit a shot off the inside of the post, Sam Gallagher just failed to stretch to a Ben Brereton Diaz cross.

But Paul Heckingbottom's side had worked far too hard to get to the last eight of the FA Cup to leave it quietly.

Just as all was looking lost, just as Daniel Jebbison was stripped and ready to come on, most likely for Oli McBurnie, the Scotland international dribbled through two defenders, made space for a shot and levelled with eight minutes to go.

Extra time beckoned, but Sheffield United had no interest in that. Rising to the big occasion for the second time in a matter of days, Tommy Doyle smashed in his team's fourth stoppage-time goal in this season's competition.

A 3-2 defeat was brutally harsh on Blackburn, but as dramatic a finale as a brilliant atmosphere and cup tie to match deserved.

Bramall Lane rocked to Status Quo, Que Sera, then of course, Greasy Chip Butty. Football is about moments like this and hopefully Wembley will supply one more... at least.

Given all these players are working against off the field, it was gratifying to see.

If anyone ever tells you the FA Cup does not matter these days, they were obviously not in the historic old ground to witness Heckingbottom punching the air in front of the Kop to the cheers of the three-quarters of a stadium.

It certainly means a lot to Doyle, whose grandfathers both played in the 1969 final for Manchester City, the club he is on loan from. He was immense in what used to nailed on as Oliver Norwood's midfield.

The match was full-blooded from the start with Blackburn and their sizeable away contingent setting a lead the hosts quickly followed.

Some games just feel big, and walking to the ground, this was one. With Wembley at stake, that ought to be a given but too often in the modern FA Cup, it is not.

Doyle, again outstanding in place of Oliver Norwood as the holding midfielder in a team only one different (McBurnie for Jebbison) from the side which won a big Championship match on Wednesday, slid in to deny Brereton DIaz in the first minute and Gallagher nearly caught Wes Foderingham dawdling in possession in the second.

But the Blades found their feet, John Egan playing James McAtee through for a one-v-one in the eighth minute. Ashley Pears, son of former Middlesbrough goalkeeper Stephen, won the contest.

Quickly after Anel Ahmedhodzic thundered into a tackle and Doyle shot at Pears.

Both cranked up the volume, as did the corner Max Lowe won when his first-time cross was cut out.

It inspired both teams to full-throated football but when the elegant Iliman Ndiaye got on the ball he seemed blissfully unaware of the maelstrom around him as he dribbled around with abandon. One piece of skill in the corner during the second half was absiltuely beautiful.

Foderingham was even better and although he looked slightly unabalanced backpedalling across his area, it did not stop him tipping Gallagher's effort over the bar.

Those that were in the ground were lucky to experience the full sound and feel of a special occasion but what they missed out on - and should not - was brought to their attention.

The ball had hit Jack Robinson's hand in coming over from the left and accursed VAR - something non-Premier League grounds had been spared in the earlier games - came into play.

After consulting his pitchside monitor, referee Tim Robinson pointed to the penalty spot with far too many in the ground unsure what it was he was looking at.

If it was harsh - you feel for defenders when the ball is hammered at them these days - he might have been lucky to get away just with a free-kick later having been booked for the penalty.

Rovers have a poor penalty record against the Blades but Brereton Diaz smashed past Foderingham to give his side a 22nd minute lead.

It took only seven minutes for the hosts to respond, and they need a sliceof luck to do it.

When a corner was cleard out to Max Lowe, he smashed it back on the volley, though it needed a huge deflection off Gallagher's knee to nestle in the net.

Worryingly for the Blades, Blackburn won two headers in succession too easily at set pieces but Foderingham tipped over brilliantly again, this time from Dominic Hyam, and Gallagher put his near-post effort wide.

The second half was full of unfulfilled promise - a heavy McAtee touch in the area, a George Baldock shot hitting the side netting, his return pass just out of Ndiaye's reach, and Ndiaye's ball to McAtee cut out.

Pears won another one-v-one against McAtee after latching onto a poor Lewis Travis pass and Ahmedhodzic's delicate chip after being urged by the crowd to shoot sailed harmlessly wide.

They were the sort of opportunities you get punished for not taking at the Premier League level United aspire too and although Blackburn are, like them, a Championship side, it looked like they would do the same.

Szmodics' goal floored them but it was up to others to finish it off and they could not.

When McAtee played McBurnie in he could not wrap his foot around it from the edge of the six-yard box. When Sander Berge was offside coming back from an offside position, the groans rang around.

But the story was not written, not by a long way.

Sheffield United: Foderingham; Ahmedhodzic, Egan, Robinson (Sharp 70); Baldock (Bogle 88), Doyle, Berge, McAtee (Basham 90), Lowe; Ndiaye, McBurnie.

Unused substitutes: Davies, Fleck, Norwood, Coulibaly, Arblaster, Jebbison.

Blackburn Rovers: Pears; Rankin-Costello (Brittain 79), Carter, Hyam, Pickering; Morton (Dolan 90); Hedges (Wharton 79), Travis, Szmodics, Brereton; Gallagher.

Unused substitutes: Kaminski, Edun, Garrett, Phillips, Wharton, Leonard.

Referee: T Robinson (West Sussex).