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Sheffield United defeated Bristol City as Chris Wilder’s side won the first leg of the semi-finals 3-0 at Ashton Gate ahead of a return trip to South Yorkshire for him and their supporters.
Don Goodman believes ‘one foot’ is in the final of the Championship play-offs where Sheffield United will face either Sunderland or Coventry City if they can navigate the reverse fixture at Bramall Lane.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  LeedsLeeds | 46 | 29 | 13 | 4 | 95 | 30 | 65 | 100 |
| 2 |  BurnleyBurnley | 46 | 28 | 16 | 2 | 69 | 16 | 53 | 100 |
| 3 |  Sheff UtdSheffield Utd | 46 | 28 | 8 | 10 | 63 | 36 | 27 | 90 |
| 4 |  SunderlandSunderland | 46 | 21 | 13 | 12 | 58 | 44 | 14 | 76 |
| 5 |  CoventryCoventry | 46 | 20 | 9 | 17 | 64 | 58 | 6 | 69 |
| 6 |  Bristol CityBristol City | 46 | 17 | 17 | 12 | 59 | 55 | 4 | 68 |
The Blades finished third in a three-horse race and were always likely to be favourites, with Chris Wilder’s side also winning the head-to-head record between Bristol City and Sheffield United by a huge margin in recent memory as well.
The Blades have a three-goal lead in the away leg and look likely to make the final without a collapse against Bristol City, giving them a chance to overcome a terrible Sheffield United play-off record.
Football fans unite in criticism of Chris Wilder after Bristol City 0-3 Sheffield United
Our player ratings at Ashton Gate reflected the gulf in class between the sides on the night, leaving Liam Manning’s side on the brink of elimination after fighting so hard to get there on the final day of the regular season against Preston North End.
Manning is unlikely to have been pleased with Oliver Langford being selected for the game, but even more so after seeing his side reduced to ten men after Ron Dickie’s early red card. It wasn’t a game without controversy throughout, with offside goals and the like to contend with.
Mark Clattenburg believes the disallowed Sheffield United goal prior to that was an extremely ‘tight call’. Those were just two controversial moments during the game, but another came at full-time with Wilder leading his players away from clapping an away end doing an almost seven hour round trip.
The decision on the surface looked bizarre by the Sheffield United boss, but he had a perfectly reasonable explanation, one where Wilder highlighted the ‘respect’ for Bristol City that he has. That didn’t stop fans online from criticising him, though.
Another fan added: “Extremely odd behaviour, can surely still clap travelling fans who have travelled long distance on a Thursday night and still enforce the “the job isn’t done” after. Grow up fella”.
Two further responses were very similar, with one stating: “Fair play he always finds a way to make it about himself”. And another said: “Fans travelled all that way on a Thursday night only for their manager to drag the players away for ‘mentality reasons’. Games gone”.
Another said: “If they were jumping around celebrating then fair enough, but this is just desperate attention seeking, when have players ever not clapped away fans”.
The responses aren’t having any of Wilder’s ‘respect’ for Bristol City claims, and rightly point out that the fans deserve a clap for travelling down on a Thursday night, irrespective of whether the tie has a second leg or not.
Can Bristol City overcome Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane record?
Manning called the referee a ‘disgrace’ but his side were second best prior to the red card as well. It leaves them with a lot to do against one of the best home teams in the division on Monday.
| Position | Club | Played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goal Difference | Points |
| 1 | Leeds United | 23 | 18 | 4 | 1 | +49 | 58 |
| 2 | Burnley | 23 | 14 | 9 | 0 | +27 | 51 |
| 3 | Sheffield United | 23 | 15 | 4 | 4 | +16 | 49 |
| 4 | Bristol City | 23 | 13 | 7 | 3 | +16 | 46 |
The Blades have only conceded more than twice all season, albeit those came in games at Bramall Lane. Sheffield United lost 3-0 to Hull City and 3-1 to Leeds United in the space of just a month in January and February.
To have any chance at all, Bristol City will need to do that and they will also require a bit of luck as well. Wilder’s in a strong position to make it to Wembley now but the play-offs can cause the weird and wonderful more than any other footballing competition.