Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom targets FA Cup run after Daniel Jebbison delivers against Millwall

Jebbison was handed a start for the first time since the opening day of the season and responded by scoring the Blades’ opener at The Den, coolly slotting home midway through the first half after latching on to an excellent first-time pass by James McAtee.

The strike was Jebbison’s first of the season – breaking a United duck stretching back to May 2021 – and was added to by Jayden Bogle’s deflected effort after 36 minutes as the four-time winners reached the fourth round.

“He (Jebbison) can be really pleased with that performance,” Heckingbottom said.

“We wanted to look after Billy (Sharp) after back-to-back games so bringing him in was a no-brainer but the decision was made easier by the way Jebbo has been performing and training of late.

“He arguably deserved his chance anyway and he’s taken it. He scored a really good goal and worked hard without the ball.

“Our job and his job is to generate consistency. We’ll keep working with him. Hopefully the more consistent he gets, the more minutes he gets.”

United have now won nine of their last 11 matches in all competitions and Heckingbottom hopes a cup run can complement, rather than distract from, their automatic promotion push in the Championship.

“If we have a run, great,” he said. “The message was to be in the hat for the next round and we’ve done that.

“If we’re thin on the ground it’s different but if we get players back fit, it’s an opportunity for more game time.”

Heckingbottom’s opposite number Gary Rowett was left to rue a below-par display as his side exited at the third-round stage for the second-consecutive season.

It took 27 minutes for the Lions to muster a shot at goal and though they improved after the break, Andreas Voglsammer and Tyler Burey spurned presentable opportunities to dash hopes of a comeback.

“If you concede two poor goals against a team like Sheffield United, you give yourself a mountain to climb,” Rowett said.

“We had moments to get a goal back which might have made it interesting but the performance didn’t deserve that.

“We were poor and I’m disappointed. We wanted to get through.

“We only made four changes and the four that came in have played regular football for us this season, so I expected a better performance.

“We have to put it behind us and focus on the league, where we have a big 21 games ahead of us.”

Millwall: Bialkowski, McNamara (Evans 77), Cresswell, Hutchinson (Cooper 60), Wallace, Saville, Shackleton, Voglsammer, Honeyman (Burey 60), Bennett (Esse 61), Bradshaw (Flemming 46). Unused substitutes: Mitchell, Leonard, Trueman.

Sheffield United: Davies, Basham, Egan, Robinson, Bogle, McAtee (Brooks 90), Norwood, Doyle (Coulibaly 90), Stevens (Baldock 85), Ndiaye (Berge 70), Jebbison (Sharp 70). Unused substitutes: Ahmedhodzic, Foderingham, Buyabu, Marsh.

Referee: John Brooks (Leicestershire).