Sheffield United Fly Into 2nd Leg But Can’t Be Complacent – Burrows Has Experience With Losing Big Lead in Play-offs | OneFootball

Sheffield United produced a ruthless display to thrash ten-man Bristol City 3-0 at Ashton Gate in the first leg of the Championship play-off semi-finals, putting one foot firmly in the final with a commanding performance on the road.

Chris Wilder’s men overcame early frustration and a disallowed goal to seize control of the tie, capitalising after Rob Dickie’s red card late in the first half to run riot in a dominant second period.

The Blades thought they had the dream start just 10 minutes in. Jack Robinson launched one of his trademark long throws into the Bristol City box, causing havoc. Tyrese Campbell powered a header into the net, sparking wild celebrations in the away end only for the assistant’s flag to cut them short. Sydie Peck was deemed offside after a tangle with Jason Knight on the goal line.

United kept probing and finally got their reward on the stroke of half-time. After a flick-on from Campbell, Kieffer Moore burst clear and was brought down by Rob Dickie inside the area. Though Dickie got a touch on the ball after contact with the player, he had clearly denied a goal-scoring opportunity. The referee showed the red card, and Harrison Burrows coolly sent Max O’Leary the wrong way from the spot to make it 1-0.

After the break, the Blades were stuck in second gear so Chris Wilder made key changes, introducing Callum O’Hare, Andre Brooks, and Tom Davies for Campbell, Rhian Brewster, and Sydie Peck. This decision would prove to be a masterstroke.

Seven minutes later, Burrows whipped in a dangerous low cross. O’Hare cleverly dummied at the near post, allowing Brooks to ghost in unmarked and calmly slot home at the back stick to double the advantage.

Ten minutes later, the tie looked all but settled. From a Gustavo Hamer corner, Anel Ahmedhodzic climbed highest and nodded down into a packed area. Vinicius Souza mis-hit his effort, but the ball fell kindly to O’Hare, who instinctively flicked it into the net to make it 3-0 and send the away end into raptures once more.

Sheffield United Captain on Remaining Focused For Second-leg

BRISTOL, ENGLAND – MAY 08: Andre Brooks of Sheffield United celebrates scoring his team’s second goal with teammate Hamza Choudhury during the Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Semi Final First Leg match between Bristol City and Sheffield United at Ashton Gate on May 08, 2025 in Bristol, England. (Photo by Harry Trump/Getty Images)

Blades captain Jack Robinson, speaking to SUTV, reflected on a near-perfect evening for the visitors.

“3-0, it’s an unbelievable result. You don’t get many games like that in the play-offs where you can take a comfortable lead into the second game. It was tough. The first half was tough; the goal disallowed what we thought should’ve stood but I’ve not seen it back yet. We carried on from there, Harrison stuck the pen away, in the second half we got the second goal early on and you could see it just deflated them and then we got another. 3-0, we’ll take that all day.”

Looking ahead to Monday’s second leg at Bramall Lane, he warned against complacency.

“With a 3-0 lead it’s more comfortable, but we still have to perform. We cannot drop off now in the second game. We want to go and win it and we’ll try and keep another clean sheet. Anything can happen in the playoffs. It’s on us. We’ve got to focus now. We’ve got three days to prepare and I’m sure we’ll recover and we’ll go into that game with our heads held high.”

Blades Defender Harrison Burrows Has Experience in Blowing A Big Lead in the Play-offs

Harrison Burrows, who opened the scoring with a composed penalty, was measured in his post-match reflections.

“Really happy with that. Obviously it’s the first leg so it’s not done yet, we’re going to work hard over the weekend. Going into Monday we’re in a strong position.”

On the tactical approach, Burrows said, “We mastered the game plan that the gaffer was going through all week to a tee I think. Everyone spot on tonight.”

The young left-back famously saw a 4-0 lead overturned in last season’s League One play-off semi-finals while at Peterborough United, against Sheffield Wednesday. So Burrows knows the dangers of letting up in the second leg.

“Take the game as a 0-0, don’t take it as anything else. Go into the game with confidence, but it’s half a job done,” Burrows told Sky Sports.

Callum O’Hare, who netted the third and played a vital role in the second, praised the impact of the substitutes.

“I think we just needed a little bit of a kick. We had a lot of the ball but we didn’t make a lot of chances. Having a man more, we wanted to make sure we went into the second leg with a decent lead and we’ve done that.”

Sheffield United head to Bramall Lane with a 3-0 lead to defend on Monday evening, looking to write history by achieving promotion via the play-offs for the first time in their history. They already made a bit of history on Thursday evening as it was the first time they’ve ever won an away first-leg, as well as it being the first time they’ve ever scored more than two goals in a play-off first-leg.