Sheffield United punished for missed chances in defeat to West Brom
Chris Wilder has criticised the second-half display as Blades lose 2-0
Sheffield United missed key first-half opportunities and were punished by West Brom in a 2-0 Championship defeat at The Hawthorns.
Norwegian striker Aune Heggebo opened the scoring in the 50th minute with his seventh goal in as many games, before setting up Karlan Grant to seal the result 11 minutes later.
United started strongly, creating four clear chances in the first half, but Gustavo Hamer, Tyrese Campbell, Patrick Bamford and Djibril Soumare were unable to convert their opportunities.
West Brom, struggling for form after back-to-back defeats, showed resilience, and their second-half performance capitalised on United's wastefulness.
Chris Wilder, Sheffield United's manager, criticised his team's lacklustre attitude after the interval.
“Our attitude and mentality were shocking in the second half,” Wilder said.
He added, “It’s as frustrated and angry as I have been for a long time. The players just thought the game was going to come to them.
“We knew it was a great opportunity because of the run West Brom had been on. We smelt it before the game—there was a bit of vulnerability regarding them.
“We went after it. It’s alright going after it but you have to bury them and we didn’t take our chances.
“As an experienced operator, at half-time I know how difficult it is to win a game—you have to go again and have that physicality and drive to go again.
“But we were miles off it. There was no urgency about our play and we were passive.”
The defeat sees Sheffield United falter against a side they had hoped to exploit, while West Brom head coach Ryan Mason expressed relief following the win, which moves his side within three points of the play-off places.