Two late goals from Billy Sharp and Sander Berge booked Sheffield United’s place in the Fifth Round of the FA Cup as they defeated Wrexham 3-1 at Bramall Lane on Tuesday.
Veteran striker Sharp had a number of opportunities to score in the game, including a disallowed goal before capitalising on a mistake from Wrexham defender Max Cleworth to win the tie for his team deep in added time, before midfielder Berge added a third moments later.
Sheffield United were once again pushed all the way by the National League side but in the end they prevailed thanks to one of the English Football League’s most notorious centre-forwards who was never going to squander the golden opportunity he was given to win the game. On the face of it, they had more possession and more chances, and in the end it was clinical finishing that got them through, right when we thought it was going to go to extra time.
Wrexham left it all out there once again and made it really difficult for the Championship side. They will be bitterly disappointed that it was a mistake that cost them but they can be really proud with how they performed in both fixtures, and that will only spur them on for the rest of the season as they look to return to the Football League.
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Just like they did in the original fixture, Wrexham took the game to the Premier League-chasing side early as frontman Paul Mullin once again caused the Blades back line several headaches. The hosts weren’t really at it in the first half which was typified when James McAtee missed a golden one-on-one opportunity to score past Rob Lainton by placing his effort wide of the post. He even had Iliman Ndiaye to pass for a tap-in but his poo decision making summed up a blunt first half from the Blades.
💔 Heartbreak for @Wrexham_AFC
Billy Sharp is just LETHAL in those situations 😎
#ITVFootball | @EmiratesFACup
Lainton, Wrexham’s longest-serving player, wasn’t really tested in the first half but he was on hand to stop Ahmedhodzic’s powerful effort from close-range as well as a couple easier saves to make from the likes of Billy Sharp and Ndiaye.
Paul Heckingbottom’s men came out of the traps quickly after the interval. After stinging the palms of Lainton in the first half, Ahmedhodzic got the better of him at the second attempt after he picked up the ball inside the box and rifled the ball into the near post to bring the home crowd to life.
The towering defender went from hero to zero within nine minutes as a lapse in concentration saw him concede a penalty for pulling down Mullin after the striker put him off balance with the quick shift of his feet. The forward then converted from the spot with a textbook finish into the roof of the net to send the travelling fans behind the goal wild.
The visitors’ confidence grew after the equaliser and they started to ask more questions of the team three divisions above them, but their attacks did leave them vulnerable to counter-attacks.
Wrexham looked more dangerous as the game went on and you thought that Sheffield United would have learned not to be so reckless around Mullin but substitute Ollie Norwood fell into the same trap that Ahmedhodzic did and brought down Mullin in the box. Luckily for the Northern Irishman, Davies was able to deny Mullin a second goal of the evening and it sparked a quick break for his team, but it came to nothing.
The final 20 minutes were frantic. Sheffield United had an appeal for a penalty after the ball struck Elliot Lee’s arm but their appeals were waved away. The players were absolutely furious but in the end it didn’t matter as local hero Sharp and Norwegian Berge got the job done to book the Blades a home tie with Tottenham Hotspur in the next round.
