After a promising start to the season, Sheffield United hit an unexpected bump as they suffered their first defeat, crashing out of the Carabao Cup at the hands of local rivals Barnsley. The Blades, who had been expected to progress past the League One side, were undone by a simple goal from Barnsley’s Max Watters early in the second half.
The match, held at Oakwell, was a tightly contested affair, with Barnsley showing resilience throughout. Despite the Blades’ dominance in possession, particularly in the first half, they were unable to convert their opportunities into goals.
Barnsley started the second half strongly and were rewarded for their efforts when Watters found the back of the net, striking past Sheffield United’s Adam Davies to give the home side a crucial lead. The goal injected confidence into the Barnsley ranks, allowing them to sit back and absorb pressure while looking dangerous on the counterattack.
In response, Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder made a series of substitutions to reinvigorate his side, bringing on Gustavo Hamer, Andre Brooks, Harrison Burrows, Auston Trusty, and Tyrese Campbell. These changes saw Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, Sam McCallum, Rhys Norrington-Davies, Rhian Brewster, and Owen Hampson make way as the Blades sought to claw back into the game.
Hamer, in particular, almost made an immediate impact with a powerful, swerving strike that forced a fine save from the Barnsley goalkeeper. The resulting corner saw Trusty head home what the Blades thought was an equaliser, only for the goal to be ruled out for a foul on Barnsley’s keeper, Gabriel Slonina.
Chris Wilder’s reaction as Sheffield United crash out of Carabao Cup
After the match, Chris Wilder expressed his disappointment at his side’s lackluster performance, particularly their failure to convert their dominance into goals.
“I’m disappointed. I’m disappointed for everybody who has travelled to watch us,” Wilder said in his post-match interview. “I’m disappointed by a lack of urgency in the game. I thought we had control, especially first half, we had good chances, we have to score.”
“You see the shape of their side and their strength and power, so a little bit of a wakeup call for some of the younger ones who played against Wrexham and maybe thought this was going to be a comfortable night. I told them it wasn’t going to be, we’ve got a target on our back; it’s a local derby. I said we had to go and get the first goal and when they get the first goal because we play into their hands and play backwards and slow, no urgency to our play: they jumped on that, they jumped 2 or 3 times when our midfield players just kept running with it and running into traffic. They break it up, they get the goal and then it is game on and it’s only when Gus came on we showed that urgency that we were after.”
The game came amid ongoing transfer speculation surrounding Gustavo Hamer, with Leeds United reportedly making a £13 million bid for the talented midfielder. When asked about the bid, Wilder was blunt, expressing uncertainty about whether Leeds would return with an improved offer.
“I don’t know [if they’ll make another bid]. I really don’t know what they’re thinking. Everyone knows what the bid is [a low ball offer]. They’ve brought in £120m and are trying to nick our player for what the bid is.”
Wilder also explained why Anis Slimane wasn’t involved in the squad from Tuesday night, amid rumours of Championship interest in him. Wilder said, “We want players who want to play for that shirt and want to be part of it so read into that what you think. If we do lose him we’ll replace him with someone who wants to be here.”
