The Blades take on National League Wrexham in the FA Cup fourth round replay tomorrow night at Bramall Lane, after narrowly escaping an embarrassing defeat at the Racecourse Ground.
A couple of weeks ago, on the 29th of January, everything was set up for Wrexham to defeat Sheffield United at the Racecourse Ground. The co-owner of Wrexham Football Club, well known actor Ryan Reynolds was in attendance, giving countless interviews ahead of the match.
The Canadian A-lister, Reynolds, is recognised for his work in Marvel and Disney movies, and the FA Cup fourth round tie against United was built up to be some sort of Disney-like fantasy film. But the Blades did not follow the script.
United took the lead within the first couple of minutes via an Oli McBurnie header from a corner, but United couldn’t get much going in an offensive form. There was always a sense that Wrexham were in the tie, as they bombarded United with crosses and long throws into the box.
The home side struck back early in the second half, and eventually they nudged in front on the hour mark, which instilled belief into the Wrexham fans and the incredible atmosphere cranked up an extra notch.
The Blades needed an experienced head to count up on, and Oli Norwood was the man to step up and equalise. However, in contrast, teenage striker Daniel Jebbison showed his inexperience by getting himself sent off for kicking out at an opposition player, just minutes after Norwood’s goal.
Undoubtedly, Wrexham’s star player Paul Mullin put the National League side ahead in the 86th minute. But John Egan spoiled the party mood when he netted a last second equaliser in the 95th minute.
If United are successful on Tuesday night, they will host Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup fifth round on Wednesday 1st of March.
Speaking ahead of the game, on SUTV, Paul Heckingbottom issued a warning that his team won’t be complacent tomorrow, under the Bramall Lane lights.
“We know where the priority is, we’re not hiding away from that, but we still want to win this game. We’re under no illusions how tough it is. The atmosphere’s going to be good, the challenge for us is to be noisier than them.”