Sheffield United and Portsmouth played out a goalless draw at Fratton Park on Saturday afternoon, but it was a game where both teams had chances to break the deadlock if it wasn’t for two outstanding performances from the Blades stopper Michael Cooper and the Pompey keeper Will Norris.
Chris Wilder named an unchanged side with Sydie Peck still filling in for Oliver Arblaster as he recovers from his ankle injury.
Lineups
Portsmouth: Norris, Poole, McIntyre, Pack, Potts, O’Mahony, Farrell, Silvera (Saydee 61), Swanson, Murphy, Lane (Blair 84).
Unused: Schmid, Williams, Towler, Sorensen, Dozzell, Kamara, Blair, Ritchie.
Blades: Cooper, Gilchrist (Seriki 69), Souttar, Hamer, Moore (Campbell 78), O’Hare (Brewster 63), Rak-Sakyi (Brooks 63), Burrows, Ahmedhodzic, Souza, Peck.
Unused: A. Davies, McCallum, Shackleton, Norrington-Davies, Marsh.
First half
Early on in the game, Jesurun Rak-Sakyi had a couple of runs down the right wing before he was taken out by McIntyre who was shown a yellow card. Apart from some positive moments from the Crystal Palace loanee, it was Portsmouth who pushed the issue for the first 20 minutes.
Paddy Lane was denied after Cooper tipped a low driven effort into the bottom right corner around the post. And momentum was now firmly with the home side as they won a flurry of corners and long throw-ins.
Cooper was called into action again when Josh Murphy unleashed a strike from distance that went straight into the arms of the Blades stopper.
United’s only joy in the first half came from Rak-Sakyi’s pace, and he had a chance to cause more trouble when Gilchrist played a perfect lofted pass over the top for the winger to run onto, he got to the byline and delightfully clipped a cross to the back post for Gustavo Hamer to meet with his head. And just when you thought it was a certain goal, the Pompey goalkeeper covered ground exceptionally well to deny Hamer’s header.
The Blades created another decent chance when Callum O’Hare was played in on the edge of the box, but his reluctance to shoot saw the defenders close in and eventually the window of opportunity closed.
Just before the break, Cooper pulled off one of the saves of the season. Marlon Pack whipped in a dangerous cross come shot from a wide free-kick which swerved and bounced inches in front of Cooper, and he expertly reacted to parry the ball over the bar.
Second half
Sheffield United had a teasing delivery themselves from a set piece to open up the second half. A whipping delivery from Burrows landed on the head of Souttar, who knocked it down for a teammate but the ball was ultimately cleared.
The Blades were the ones pushing in the second half, but they weren’t really creating clear cut chances. Gilchrist swung in a cross towards Kieffer Moore but the forward was moving back to the ball and he couldn’t generate any power on the header which dropped safely into the hands of Norris.
United brought on Femi Seriki and Andre Brooks, and the pair almost fashioned an opening as Seriki latched onto a loose ball on the edge of the box, but his shot was tipped over the bar.
Rhian Brewster and Tyrese Campbell were brought onto the pitch to try and get the winning goal with 20 minutes to go. And Brewster fed Campbell with a cute pass in behind the defence, Campbell won the race and fired a low shot towards goal, but the angle was always against him.
Pompey had a huge chance to claim all three points in injury time when Farrell powered a free header over the bar.
