MD9: Portsmouth 1-1 Sheffield United
Slack second half sees Portsmouth grab their first point of the season but United maintain their gap on the drop zone as Maria Farrugia scores again
This might not have been “must win” for United, given the three points they picked up at Blackburn a few weeks ago, but it was certainly “must not lose” – and in that respect, they can feel pretty happy to leave Portsmouth with a 1-1 draw after losing their grip on the game after half-time.
The good: United keep a three-point gap on Portsmouth and the Championship’s sole relegation spot. The draw actually takes them up a place in the table, above Blackburn. It also means they’ve emerged unbeaten from the games against the other probable candidates for relegation – both of which were away. Repeating those results when the opposition come to the Lane will almost certainly be enough to avoid any relegation worries.
The bad: United become the first team to fail to beat Portsmouth this season, with Pompey having lost all seven previous games. They also saw the hosts find the net for only the second time this campaign, and had periods in the second half where they had trouble containing their opponents.
Overall, though, there was plenty to suggest that the Blades will have enough to finish ahead of Portsmouth – especially in a strong first-half performance.
United were once again unchanged, and started like a team who had benefited from several weeks of continuity. Jacqui Hand and Maria Farrugia linked up regularly in attack, with Ellen Molloy pushing up to close down the Portsmouth defenders.
At the back, Charlotte Wardlaw continued to impress not only with how quickly she nipped out to intercept Pompey passes, but also with her own use of the ball: within 20 seconds she’d pinged a great pass over the top for Hand to power into the box and win the Blades a corner from which Abbie Lafayette slashed a shot wide.
This game saw the Blades reunited with their former captain and academy head Sophie Barker, who now plays in Portsmouth’s midfield. Barker’s first involvement was a typically no-nonsense foul on a surging Ella Kinzett to break up a United counter-attack.
United soon took the lead, and it was another lovely goal to add to Farrugia’s growing collection in red and white. Annie Wilding played an excellent through ball for Hand to run onto, and the New Zealand international controlled her pass superbly for Farrugia who calmly slid the ball home.
Farrugia, incidentally, was last week named the Championship’s Player of the Month for October, which is a pretty sensational achievement considering United are quite evidently one of the Championship’s lower-end teams this season. I’ve said it before but she’s been absolutely brilliant for the Blades this year: a player virtually worth the entry fee alone. She doubled up and won the October Goal of the Month as well for her incredible strike against Bristol City.
Hand was desperately close to getting her first Blades goal a few minutes later after an error from Eva Annets in the Pompey goal, but Hand’s looping header was brilliantly cleared off the line.
Sophie Quirk was bright in attack for Portsmouth but the home side couldn’t muster anything more meaningful than weak 25-yarders.
There were a lot of stoppages in this one, with United players picking up knocks on four or five occasions. Most worrying though was the injury that ended Molloy’s afternoon early in the second half, as she seemed to twinge something on a counter. It’s not the first time she’s limped off this season and she has generally been okay, so let’s hope this is also just precautionary.
Monique Robinson replaced Molloy but Portsmouth stepped up massively in the second half, as you can see from the momentum chart from SofaScore:
Talk about a game of two halves – Molloy went off after 50 minutes and it was an onslaught for the next 20 or so, with United only regaining a measure of control once Portsmouth started to glimpse the finish line. I can’t definitively say that Molloy’s absence is why this happened, but it was still pretty alarming to see how on top Portsmouth became after United had given them a complete runaround in the first half.
Grace McEwan missed a golden chance when she found herself free at a corner but couldn’t touch home at the far post, and Hannah Coan also knocked one over from a set-piece. Striker Erin McLaughlin got in on goal and forced a smothering save from Sian Rogers, but the reprieve was only temporary.
Wardlaw had had a good game up to this point but got caught out by a pretty simple ball into the Blades box, and Lily Dent managed to squeeze a shot past Rogers’ hand. United’s keeper then saved well from substitute Emma Jones.
After Rogers took one of her weekly tactical timeouts – I see you Sian Rogers – and got some treatment while her team-mates regrouped, United did seem to gather themselves a bit and managed to get some of the game played in Portsmouth’s half.
Kinzett released Eva Butler but the Blades youngster couldn’t quite find a team-mate with her pullback, and then those same two combined in the box but this time it was Kinzett who couldn’t pick out a red and white shirt. Robinson then danced across the edge of the box but her shot was comfortably saved by Annets.
Butler was pushed up down the right by this point and causing massive problems for Portsmouth – and almost created the winner. Her ball picked out Farrugia who fired a strong shot at goal which was parried, and Hand couldn’t quite wrap her foot around the rebound and it finished 1-1.
Sunderland (H), Sunday November 17th, 13:00 kick-off
Next up is United’s final home game of 2024, and they go up against a Sunderland team who have found form after a tough start. The Black Cats have won their last three, including victories over Bristol City (5th in the league) and Durham (3rd).
Their underlying numbers support a team that’s likely to finish quite comfortably in midtable, although their defence is one of the worst in the league on Expected Goals – allowing 1.88 xGA per game according to footystats, with only United and Portsmouth allowing more.
They’re also a side that seems to like playing on the counter-attack – only Blackburn have a lower average possession this season, while Sunderland’s league-high 22 yellow cards (next highest is Birmingham, with 16) suggests a team that press hard and often tread a fine line.
I’m not sure if that’s good news for United, who have been burned on the counter plenty of times this season. If Molloy’s out, and Robinson comes in as expected, that could potentially give the Blades more control in midfield against a team that is happy to cede it. And with Farrugia in this form, and Hand looking more threatening by the game, this could be a game where United break their home duck this season.
Finally, I’m on BlueSky now too if you’re using that platform and would like to follow. Thanks for reading, back next week with hopefully more points to write about.