The 149th meeting between Sheffield United and Blackburn Rovers ended in calamity for the away side, as manager Tony Mowbray was dismissed in the final stages as his team were dumped out of the Carabao Cup at the Second Round after having the most of the game, but ultimately fell to two isolated chances which gave the Premier League Blades the bye through to the Third Round.
Following his side’s 0-0 draw with Cardiff City at the weekend, Tony Mowbray rung in the changes for this Carabao Cup tie, with eight changes named. Jayson Leutwiler, Ryan Nyambe, Greg Cunningham, Corry Evans, Richie Smallwood, John Buckley, Joe Rothwell and Adam Armstrong all came into the rotated side with Darragh Lenihan, Derrick Williams and Bradley Dack the survivors from the weekend.
The game kicked-off with optimism brewing from both sides, after their encouraging starts to their respective league campaigns. Although Rovers had started underwhelmingly with two defeats in their first two games, the tails of the players and their 553 travelling fans would have been high after a hattrick of clean sheets, whereas Sheffield United would have been buoyant following their positive start to their Premier League campaign which has so far seen them pick up four points from their opening three games.
Rovers started the brighter of the sides as on the 3rd minute, Dack managed to wriggle his way beyond Ben Osborn, who was acting as United’s left-wing-back. Although Dack’s skill was impressive, his subsequent cross was well-claimed by the Blades’ stand-in ‘keeper Simon Moore.
The positive Rovers start continued a few minutes later when Adam Armstrong tried his luck from around 20-yards out, however his effort lacked the accuracy needed to find the back of the net, as the ball flew behind for a goal-kick.
Rovers were soon handed an early opportunity to take the lead on the 7th minute, in order to make their good start, a great one. Bradley Dack burst into the penalty area and was clipped by Richard Stearman, which gave referee Geoff Eltringham no option but to book the defender and point to the spot. Although Dack was fouled and with Danny Graham on the bench, it was Adam Armstrong who took responsibility for the spot-kick, in the hope of opening his account for the season. Although the 22-year old seemed confident, his opportunity was scuppered by a good save from Moore, before he clawed Richie Smallwood’s close rebound behind for a corner, which United dealt with.
Rovers’ dominance on the game continued as John Buckley tried his luck from distance on the 9th minute but saw his effort curl wide.
The 15th minute again saw Rovers steamroll forward as Rothwell and Armstrong combined well. Although the initial pass from Rothwell into Armstrong was a good one, the return ball was less so, as it was easily intercepted by the Sheffield United backline.
The home side were unfortunately forced into an early change, on the 24th minute Kean Bryan, who was part of the home side’s back three, was hauled off with an injury, which saw Enda Stevens replace him in a straight swap.
Despite the hosts having more of the possession, Rovers had the better of the chances with the next coming on the 29th minute. Derrick Williams laid the ball off to Joe Rothwell, who struck a venomous shot from around 20-yards out. Unluckily for the midfielder, the accuracy didn’t match the power, as the scores remained level.
From Rothwell’s effort, it only took two minutes for the goalless scoreline to have a goal in it. A United corner was palmed by Leutwiler, who failed to get a clean connection on the punch due to Greg Cunningham being in his way, before it fell to Richard Stearman, who nodded the ball into the empty net in order to put his side 1-0 and make up for the penalty he had conceded earlier.
Rovers weren’t going to lie down and take the defeat, however, as they found themselves on the attack only two minutes later. Dack and Buckley played a one-two, before the former slid the ball through into Armstrong’s path. It was looking as if it wasn’t going to be Armstrong’s night as his effort was again smothered by Moore.
Another Rovers opportunity materialised as the game’s next chance, as a free-kick from the right-hand side saw Darragh Lenihan connect with the ball, as he tried to nod it across goal for a teammate to poke home. Although the idea was good, no Rovers player was on the same wavelength, as it was missed and dealt with by United.
The 35th minute came with another Rovers chance, as Cunningham broke forward and attempted to assist Armstrong for the equaliser. Whilst Armstrong did well to burst inside using his pace and craft an opening, his shot was deflected behind for a corner, which the hosts dealt with again.
With the action in the half seemingly occurring in bursts, it wasn’t long until the efforts died out and half-time approached, as referee Geoff Eltringham soon added on an extra three minutes to the end of the first-half.
Although most would have expected the half to end at 1-0, the hosts managed to earn a second, right on the stroke of the half, as Burnley-born midfielder Ollie Norwood found the bottom right-hand corner of Leutwiler’s goal with a first-time effort. Despite potential calls for handball on the edge of the area by Derrick Williams, Ravel Morrison picked the ball up on the edge of the area and showed his quality by dancing past two Rovers challenges, before teeing up Norwood who swept a lovely effort past Leutwiler to make it 2-0.
From the Rovers restart, Geoff Eltringham called an end to the half which Rovers would have been disappointed not to net in, especially following their squandered penalty.
With the sides in their respective dressing rooms, there would have been an air of confidence about the home side’s section, as despite making 10 changes to the side that fell to a 2-1 defeat at home to Leicester City on the weekend, Chris Wilder would have been pleased that his side managed to fend off the early Rovers pressure and grab two goals of their own.
Tony Mowbray, on the other hand, wouldn’t have been impressed with the fact that his side had squandered so many opportunities, both, to take the lead and to equalise. Despite the penalty miss, Rovers had more than enough opportunities to grab the leveller, however the boss would have been more irked by the defending on both goals, with both attempts seeming soft on the replay.
The second-half was soon restarted, but not before Sheffield United made their second change of the game. £20m forward Oli McBurnie was removed and replaced by former Rovers transfer target, Luke Freeman.
Rovers began the second-half as they did the first as they narrowly missed an opportunity to reduce the arrears. Rovers’ pressure saw the ball lofted into the box towards Greg Cunnigham, whose connection was deflected over the bar.
The subsequent corner was played out to the edge of the area for Dack to volley towards goal, but the playmaker’s effort was well blocked by United goalscorer, Stearman.
On the hour mark, Rovers made their first change of the tie as Bradley Dack departed and was replaced by £5m forward, Sam Gallagher.
It didn’t take too long for the second Rovers change to occur as Richie Smallwood was withdrawn, with Lewis Travis taking his place. United simultaneously made their final change as their second goalscorer Ollie Norwood saw £10m striker, Lys Mousset replace him.
It took Mousset only two minutes to get involved as he picked up the ball from the left-hand side before cutting in and shaping up to release an effort, but fortunately for Rovers, Lenihan was there to pickpocket the substitute.
Rovers’ final change came on the 71st minute as Joe Rothwell made way for academy graduate Joe Rankin-Costello, who was making his senior debut.
A minute after Rovers made their final change, they managed to claw themselves back into the game as substitute Sam Gallagher grabbed his first goal since re-joining the club. A deep Adam Armstrong cross saw Gallagher ghost away from Ben Osborn, before out-jumping the former Nottingham Forest midfielder and powering a header past the seemingly unbeatable Simon Moore to make it 2-1 and give Rovers a chance at a comeback.
On the 77th minute, Darragh Lenihan became the second player on the night to go into the book after he fouled Luke Freeman.
The 85th minute saw two Rovers chances in a matter of seconds. John Buckley and Joe Rankin-Costello combined well as the latter managed to get through on goal and round ‘keeper Simon Moore, before his effort was blocked by the retreating defenders into the path of Corry Evans whose unmarked header edged wide of the post.
Joe Rankin-Costello again had a chance to potentially send the game to penalties, on the 88th minute, as Gallagher played him in with a low ball, but the subsequent effort by Rankin-Costello was blocked by the valiant home defence.
As the 90th minute hit the clock, four minutes of added time were allocated onto the end of the tie.
The 91st minute saw a flurry of bookings as Ravel Morrison received a yellow card for a foul on Lewis Travis, whilst Greg Cunningham also received a booking for a foul moment prior.
Cunningham was again involved, this time as an attacking threat on the 92nd minute as he rose highest from Rovers’ corner, but saw his header saved by Moore.
The final act of the game, surprisingly, came from the touchline rather than the field as Rovers boss Tony Mowbray was given his marching orders seconds before full-time, for excessive protesting.
With Rovers managerless, the final whistle was soon blown by Geoff Eltringham to end a game where, in truth, Rovers should have scored more than the single goal they left Bramall Lane with. Despite the gap in divisions between the sides, Rovers proved more than capable of causing United problems in the first-half, however saw their defence breached by what some would class as ‘soft’ efforts.
Although Rovers will not be part of tomorrow’s Third Round draw, which is live on Sky Sports, there will be some positives to take from this tie with the main one being Sam Gallagher re-opening his for the club with his 13th strike in Blue and White.
With the Carabao Cup shelved until next season, following this defeat, Rovers can now turn their attention back to their league form, which they left off in positive fashion with the trio of clean sheets on the bounce, which included two wins from the three games they played last week. Whether Mowbray’s dismissal in this game has consequences will remain to be seen, in the Blues’ next fixture, on 31st August away at 3pm, at The Hawthorns where they shall be visiting a West Bromwich Albion side who will definitely be without their manager, Slaven Bilić, after he was dismissed in the Baggies’ Championship game away at Derby County on Saturday. Hilariously, if a ban was to come in for Mowbray, it would mean that both managers would be unavailable for their teams for the first time ever. Moving on from the potential Hawthorns high jinks, after Rovers return from the Midlands, the league moves into its first international break of the season before returning to action on Saturday 14th September, when Rovers host Millwall at 3pm. After Neil Harris’ side leave Ewood Park, Rovers then make the long journey down to Berkshire to face Reading on Saturday 21st September at 3pm.
