Tamara Wilcock scored on her first Sheffield United start as The Blades came from behind to draw 1-1 with Blackburn Rovers at Bramall Lane this afternoon.
After a day of disruptions across the leagues, the pitch at Bramall Lane survived the cold, playing host to two of the clubs in the bottom half of the Barclays Women’s Championship table.
Sheffield United were looking to extend the gap between themselves and bottom club Coventry United. The South Yorkshire side were in search of their first league win since September. Meanwhile, Blackburn Rovers were set to contest just their second league fixture in two months.
The hosts dominated possession early on, getting the ball forward and creating their chances, however, Blackburn Rovers were equal to it, creating the best opportunities in front of goal.
With 25 minutes gone, the visitors opened the scoring. Saffron Jordan’s shot from the right rolled under Bethan Davies and into the back of The Blades’ goal.
Looking to respond quickly, The Blades created their chances in the box and Wilcock had a good attempt but it wasn’t enough to bother Alex Brooks in the Blackburn Rovers goal.
With just seconds remaining until the half-time interval, Wilcock scored her first senior goal for Sheffield United. The youngster picked up the loose ball in the box before striking her effort into the net to bring the scores back level.
Fired up from their late equaliser, The Blades came out all guns blazing in the second half and Grace Riglar had a chance to score but her header sailed over the bar.
As Sheffield United dominated the game, a goal-mouth tussle could have gone either way. The hosts struggled to get the ball into the net but equally, the visitors struggled to keep it out. Eventually, the ball was put just wide. These were promising signs from the hosts who were growing in confidence in front of goal.
The game became very end-to-end as the temperature dropped. Blackburn Rovers used every opportunity to break towards goal and Davies was called upon to make a number of saves.
Sheffield United never stopped running as they created chance-after-chance in front of goal themselves. Charlotte Newsham and Georgia Walters both saw headers narrowly miss the target.
As the final whistle blew, neither team had found a way to secure all three points and honours were even. Both teams had put in commendable performances but Sheffield United will feel like they should’ve got more from the game given the number of chances they created. Both teams remain in the same league positions following this afternoon’s result.
About The Author
