Blackburn Rovers impress to beat Sheffield United at Ewood Park

A first of the season for the left back was enough to see Rovers to victory in what was an outstanding display from back to front.

They suffocated the Blades and showed no shortage of quality in possession, summed by the early goal that proved to be the difference between the sides.

The start of the second half was when Rovers really took charge, and despite not being able to find a second goal, they held out for a fifth successive clean sheet at Ewood Park to move them up to third.

The Rovers side showed two changes from the FA Cup win at Leicester, as John Buckley and Sorba Thomas returned in place of Tyler Morton and Ryan Hedges, while Sheffield United saw Chris Basham come in for the suspended Anel Ahmedhodzic.

Harry Pickering was preferred over Callum Brittain at left back and showed his quality just five minutes in to give Rovers the lead. The left back finished off a fine move to arrow a shot across Wes Fotheringham and into the corner.

The move started in the Rovers box, with Sorba Thomas and Sam Szmodics leading the charge, before finding Tyrhys Dolan whose reverse pass teed up Pickering who came up with the finish.

It was a decent response for the visitors who would undoubtedly prove to be a threat given their individual quality, but also team shape.

They worked the ball nicely out of a tight space on the left-hand side to create an opening for Sander Berge whose shot was straight at Aynsley Pears who held.

The visitors clearly fancied themselves from set plays, sending plenty of players forward for both corners and Jack Robinson long throws.

It was Robinson himself who got his head to an Oliver Norwood right-wing corner which took a flick off Hayden Carter and forced Pears into a reaction save diving away to his right.

The Rovers fans weren’t best pleased at the time taken by Robinson’s drying of the ball with every long throw, but United were persisting with the ploy, as a 22nd minute throw dropped to John Egan whose snap-shot was blocked by Lewis Travis.

The Blades were turning up the pressure and threatened a leveller through an unlikely source. Chris Basham slalomed his way beyond three players, and into the six-yard box, only to stumble at the vital moment which saw him shoot tamely straight at Pears.

It was frantic stuff at times, but Rovers were carrying a threat at the other end. An excellent buckley oass sent Thomas in down the right, he cut the ball back for Dolan whose thumping shot came back off the near post.

Players were less than sure of their touch on a bouncy Ewood pitch, but it only added to the competitive edge that was bubbling up.

Oli McBurnie couldn’t get enough purchase on his header eight minutes before the break, when meeting a John Fleck cross, while at the other end Sam Gallagher was proving to be a more than useful outlet.

Rovers were troubling the Blades with their pace, and also down the flanks, and could have made the most of a break in first half stoppage time. Gallagher led the attack, but couldn’t pick his head up quickly enough to find the unmarked Szmodics and Thomas, with the move ending with a Dolan snap-shot going wide of the near post.

The Blades were looking for overloads on the flanks, but equally Rovers’ pace on the break was causing problems.

Rovers enjoyed some good territory at the start of the second half, kicking towards the Blackburn End, with the home crowd in good voice.

They had been good out of the blocks in the first half, and were looking for likewise after the break, with Buckley firing over from the edge of the box at the end of some sustained pressure.

The only thing missing from a rampant start to the second half was a second goal as confidence oozed through the Rovers side.

Szmodics was crowded out when trying to get on the end of a Gallagher cut-back, before the Rovers attacker hit the bar with a curling effort that he lifted over the top of Fotheringham.

The Blades made three changes just after the hour mark in a bid to turn the tide, but still Rovers poured forward as Dolan had a shot well blocked by Egan.

Things were hotting up, as Basham escaped a second yellow card before Norwood and Szmodics were booked for fouls in quick succession.

Berge hooked over from a Robinson knockdown in the 70th minute, but Rovers were managing the game well as it moved into the final quarter.

The visitors definitely weren’t out of the game at 1-0, and showed how slender Rovers’ advantage was when threatening an equaliser as McBurnie turned Robinson’s low shot goalwards, but fortunately for Pears it was straight at him.

United made their final two changes with still 15 minutes remaining, just after Egan had planted a header from a Norwood corner onto the roof of the net.

Those changes saw a move to a back four from the Blades a three-man attacking line.

For the first time in the second half it felt as though the momentum was with the visitors as they tried to force the issue.

Tomasson responded with his first changes in the 80th minute, as Ryan Hedges replaced Thomas, while Ben Brereton came on for Tyrhys Dolan.

There was a pause to proceedings as the game reached the 90th minute for medical assistance to be given to someone in the Jack Walker lower.

Five minutes were shown to be added on as the game resumed.

Rovers managed the first section of that well, with a series of throws in deep in the United half before Gallagher had a shot deflected through to Fotheringham.

They  had to negotiate some late set pieces, but nothing could deny them a fourth straight Championship win, and it’s now five successive clean sheets at Ewood Park where they have won 12 of their 17 matches.

Rovers: Pears, Rankin-Costello, Hyam, Carter, Pickering, Buckley, Travis, Thomas (Hedges, 82), Szmodics, Dolan (Brereton, 82), Gallagher

Subs: Hilton, Brittain, Phillips, Morton, Garrett

Sheffield United: Foderingham, Fleck (McAtee, 62), Basham (Sharp, 75), Berge, McBurnie, Egan, Lowe (Osborn, 64), Norwood (Doyle, 75), Robinson, Bogle (Baldock, 62), Ndiaye

Subs: Davies, Clark