MD6: Sheffield United 1-2 Birmingham City

Ellen Molloy bags a superb solo goal as United come so close to holding out against league leading Blues

United went so close to their first point of the season against a strong Birmingham City side who went top of the Women’s Championship on Friday night, but a late penalty for the visitors settled what had become a competitive game.

The Blades had struggled to cope with City’s attack in the first half and were fortunate to go into the break at 1-1, but the second half was a different story. United locked down their penalty area, holding Birmingham to barely any chances, and came extremely close to nicking a further goal themselves on the break.

Frustrating as the loss was, then, I left Bramall Lane broadly happy and pretty confident those first points aren’t far away for this team. Especially as the squad builds fitness and familiarity.

For this game, Ellen Molloy returned after missing the previous two games, and there were first starts for striker Jacqui Hand and midfielder Jade Bailey:

For Formation Watchers, I’m pretty sure this was a continuation of a back three – but as it happens Abbie Lafayette spent most of the game defending, so it could have been a four as per our average positions:

The big thing here was the presence of Bailey from the start, who I thought made a massive difference as a defensive shield – particularly in the second half when Birmingham just couldn’t fashion any meaningful chances. It’s probably coincidence that we conceded three minutes after she went off, but here’s hoping she can get up to full 90 minute fitness very soon.

One other player who made a massive difference was Ellen Molloy, who scored a sensational solo goal to get the Blades back into it and looked a regular threat bursting forward from midfield. I’ve been impressed with what I’ve seen of her so far – the only disappointment on her performance on Friday was that she hit a last minute effort straight at the Blues’ keeper.

Jacqui Hand finally gave the Blades a senior presence up top, and while it wasn’t transformative to United’s play it certainly helped as she won several freekicks and throw-ins that helped ease some of the pressure Birmingham were applying at times. That was despite going up against physical centre-back Louise Quinn, who defended superbly for the majority of the game and looks like she’s possibly playing a level too low for her ability. 

This was also by far the best I’ve seen Charlotte Wardlaw play so far, with the left-sided centreback defending really well in the main. Overall, there was plenty of encouraging signs here against a pretty high-class, athletic opponent.

For as much praise as the Blades deserve for their second half showing, Birmingham should have been out of sight by the time Molloy levelled things up. Lee Guem-min was really impressive, popping up in between midfield and attack and setting up three good chances for her team-mates. Her substitution due to injury at half-time really changed the flow of the game.

In a mirror image of last year’s meeting between these two, Birmingham scored from a corner inside the first couple of minutes. Christie Murray swung a ball into the near post, and centre-back Neve Herron stretched out a leg to flick neatly past Sian Rogers. It was a real gut punch for United, who have now conceded first in all six games so far.

Ashanti Akpan hammered one inches wide from 25 yards with Rogers scrambling, and Lafayette did brilliantly to block a great chance for Lucy Quinn after Guem-min’s setup. Quinn then found her opposite winger, Tegan McGowan, for a free header in the six yard box – but she somehow nodded it over the bar.

On 24 minutes, United had their first meaningful foray into the Birmingham half – and equalised. Annie Wilding made a good interception on halfway, but from there it was all Ellen Molloy. Her first touch bamboozled Herron, and gave her the opportunity to run at a backpedalling Louise Quinn. Molloy sent her one way then the other before sliding her shot beautifully into the far corner for her first Blades goal.

Ellen Molloy celebrates her first Blades goal.

Maria Farrugia had one of her quieter games for the Blades, although she did have a couple of long range efforts. On the other side, Eva Butler also had a tough time of it against older, stronger and more battle-hardened opposition – a reminder of just how early in her career she is. 

Rogers made a good low save early in the second half but after that the Blades completely shut down any Birmingham attacks, and came so close to taking the lead themselves. Again, Molloy was at the heart of it, winning the ball high up and setting up Hand by the penalty spot. The striker miscued on the volley, but Butler’s follow-up looked like it was flying into the bottom corner before a City defender kicked it off the line.

Just when it looked as though United were going to hold on for a point – or even snatch three – Birmingham were awarded a soft penalty from a corner as Butler tangled with Louise Quinn. There were a lot of confused looks, not least from manager Ash Thompson who simply shrugged in response to his assistant’s query, but Quinn clearly felt there’d been a deliberate foul and so did the referee. Simone Magill sent Rogers the wrong way from the spot.

United had one last chance as substitute Fallon Connolly-Jackson powered down the left, but as the ball bobbled back to Molloy she hit her shot into Lucy Thomas’ arms. Birmingham looked thrilled at the win when the final whistle went, and United should take a lot of encouragement out of the fact they really did give the table toppers a game.

Blackburn Rovers (A), Sunday 20th October, 14:00 kickoff

Let’s not beat about the bush: this is by far United’s best chance to get a win so far this season. Blackburn sit just above the Blades in the table, with one win (a good one, over Southampton) and four defeats.

Rovers look to have the worst attack in the league so far, with just three goals scored and a paltry 0.65 expected goals per game (via footystats). The Blades, even after their brutal start, are almost a third of a goal better off in this metric. Blackburn’s defence is only a smidge better than United’s too, allowing the fourth-worst xG Against in the league.

I’ll caveat this with the fact that Blackburn’s early fixtures are very similar to United’s – that is to say, hard. But all signs point to Rovers being one of the teams that the Blades can realistically expect to compete with this season – a club that are certainly on a similar level (if not worse) budget-wise.

Former Blade Grace Riglar will unfortunately miss the game, as she suffered an ACL injury last week. Forward Georgia Walters, who played for United in 2022/23, should be in line to start up top for the home side.

Have I jinxed this game enough yet? It’s a great chance to get some points on the board. Otherwise, we’ll remain on Portsmouth Watch (another loss for the bottom-placed side, who have a significantly-worse goal difference than United). Fingers crossed.

Thanks for reading, back next week.