Blades Fan Review: Sheffield United fan John on loss to Sunderland Women

Hi John, thanks for taking the time to chat with us again. What were your thoughts on the game overall?

I thought it was a game that was evenly matched.

From a Blades perspective, we seemed to control a lot of the play but just struggled to break down a very stout and staunch Sunderland backline.

I thought Sunderland looked a lot more clinical and managed the game well and that led to United getting frustrated and, ultimately, finishing the game with 10 players.

What do you think was Sheffield’s downfall or something they didn’t do well enough?

Our final third passing was what let us down I thought.

We played some really nice stuff around the box but once it got to playing that final pass, we just couldn’t quite make anything stick.

Definitely need to improve on that final ball into the area going forward.

Photo by Barrington Coombs - The FA/The FA via Getty Images

Who was someone who stood out for you on your team?

Ash Hodson had a really good game and was at the fulcrum of a lot of our play going forward. She took it to Sunderland in the first period and battled all afternoon.

I thought Charlotte Newsham was good as well, did well in the centre of defence for the first hour then had some dangerous dribbles going forward with her crosses looking dangerous but she just lacked supporting runs in the area.

Story of the afternoon if anything from a United perspective.

Photo by Henry Browne - The FA/The FA via Getty Images

What do you think Sunderland did particularly well?

I thought Sunderland were fantastic in defence.

United couldn’t break them down at all really with the centre back pairing mopping everything up. I thought you were a lot more clinical than us and asserted your game onto us rather than us doing the asserting.

I was really impressed with the game management from Sunderland.

Photo by Barrington Coombs - The FA/The FA via Getty Images

It’s never nice to lose a game, but how do you think Sheffield will respond?

Hopefully with a win against Blackburn next week!

We just need to be a bit better at making things stick in the final third, or creating more clear-cut opportunities. There are things to improve, definitely.

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