Blackpool vs Sheffield United. Sky Bet Championship.
Bloomfield RoadAttendance4,395.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Blackpool and Sheffield United at Bloomfield Road as goals from Sander Berge and James McAtee netted for the Blades in their victory.
Thursday 29 December 2022 23:41, UK
Sheffield United maintained the pace with Sky Bet Championship table-toppers Burnley with a 2-1 win at Blackpool.
Paul Heckingbottom's side made it an impressive fifth win on the spin to pile the pressure on Vincent Kompany's league leaders ahead of their trip to Stoke on Friday night.
Goals from Sander Berge and James McAtee did the damage and even Marvin Ekpiteta's second-half effort was not enough to cause a real scare.
It meant it is now 24 points from a possible 27 for Heckingbottom's charges as they ended 2022 in style with a remarkable run of eight wins from nine.
But, for the struggling Seasiders, who remain firmly in the bottom three, it is eight games without a win in two months.
There was a touching minute's applause before kick-off for Brazilian great Pele, who died at the age of 82 on Thursday.
Both sides made changes for the clash on the seaside under the illumination of the lights at Bloomfield Road.
Heckingbottom made a trio of swaps from the starting line-up which saw his side hammer Coventry on Boxing Day.
Jack Robinson replaced the suspended John Egan, who was sent off last time out, while Enda Stevens and Jayden Bogle both returned to the starting XI.
Blackpool made a solitary change as defender Dom Thompson came in for the injured Luke Garrett after their third straight draw, at Hull.
Blades goalkeeper Wes Foderingham needed to be alert to tip Ian Poveda's powerful strike from just outside the box over in the early exchanges.
The visitors put themselves ahead in the 18th minute as Norwegian Berge safely tucked into the bottom-left corner to finish off a well-worked move.
United's goal took the wind out of the hosts' sails after a promising start and Blackpool squandered another good chance when Jake Beesley saw his effort pushed away by Foderingham after Gary Madine did well to nod the ball into his path on the six-yard box.
The visitors piled on the pressure and penned the hosts into their defensive third but it was Blackpool who should have scored the game's second goal before the break.
James Husband's floated cross had Foderingham and the Blades' defence beaten, but the chance went begging.
Sheffield United's silky football earned them a fine second just after the restart as they easily broke the struggling hosts down.
This time it was McAtee who coolly found the bottom corner as the Blades all but put the game to bed four minutes after the restart.
But Blackpool breathed life back into the contest when Ekpiteta grabbed one back in the 55th minute.
Striker Jerry Yates then smashed a long-range effort wide as they searched for a leveller before Foderingham ensured the points late on with a great save to keep out Sonny Carey.
Blackpool's Michael Appleton: "The players have shown great spirit to get themselves back into the game after going 2-0 down. There was some really poor defensive decision making to allow that to happen but the one thing they have got is spirit in that dressing room and you could see right to the final whistle there's a never-give-up attitude which is clear to see.
"That will go a long way between now and the end of the season. We're going to need that spirit we've shown. There will be times in the season where two or three clubs will lose their spirit. We've got to make sure we hang in there and make sure we're not one of them."
Sheffield United's Paul Heckingbottom: "The result was first class and big parts of the performance were good as
well. Especially in this league, you can't take your foot off the gas. You have to be willing to work hard and make sacrifices. If our flair players, or match winners, aren't willing to do that then they probably don't play because they give the opposition an advantage, but their work rate is brilliant, and they help us win games at the other end as well.
"It's a big gap over third, but we want to improve it, we want to keep winning. The more we get now, the harder the work, the better we perform, the more sacrifices we're willing to make the better position we're going to be in come the end of the season. That's why performances like that are so pleasing. The players drive themselves and they understand what it takes. We try and reinforce it as coaches with the decisions we make to keep them on their toes, but the players are driving it and they deserve the credit."
