Sheffield United 1-3 Blackburn Rovers

A defeat, but a celebration of the U21s PGA Cup success and a poignant final day tribute to Maddy Cusack

United lost 3-1 to Blackburn Rovers in their final game of the 2023/24 Championship season, although with nothing at stake for either side this felt like a weekend where the future – and, poignantly, the past – was of greater importance than the present. At the forefront of that, of course, was the U21s’ phenomenal PGA Cup victory from the day before.

This is a truly fantastic achievement: it’s the first time the club have competed at this academy level and they’ve gone up against the elite academies from around the country. After a comeback win over Liverpool in the semis, United had Chelsea in the final on Saturday – unquestionably the elite of the elite of English women’s football.

The Blades won 2-0 thanks to a penalty from Eva Butler and a late solo goal from player of the match Tilly Bristow to clinch the trophy at the first time of asking. Quite apart from the fact that this is a brilliant achievement in its own right (and God knows SUFC haven’t given fans too much to be proud of this season), the benefits for the club could also be huge in terms of attracting other local young talent to sign with the Blades.

It’s probably also worth reiterating just how young the bulk of the U21 side is, too. Bristow and Butler have made senior cameos, and Fallon Connolly-Jackson and Tamara Wilcock have started games, but even they are all still starting out. Blades fans will also be aware that there’s tons of players established in the current first team who would also be eligible for the U21s (Izzy Goodwin, Tara Bourne, Molly Graham and Ella Kinzett for example) but have moved up a level. 

So, it’s not like United have stacked the U21s with first-team players for this run – it’s some brilliant young footballers, right at the start of their careers, winning one of the biggest prizes available to them. As I said, it’s something everyone connected with United should feel extremely proud of this season, and a massive congratulations to all the players and staff on the win.

The team and trophy were paraded before kick-off on Sunday, and it was younger players who caught the eye during the game itself – a classically end-of-season match in which Blackburn recovered from a goal down to win 3-1. Teenager and lifelong Blade Molly Graham nodded in her first-ever United goal to give the Blades the lead, but United struggled defending set-pieces themselves and got into a hole that was too deep even for impressive cameos from some young subs to climb out of.

It was a pretty depleted starting XI for United, with Bex Rayner, Izzy Goodwin and Jess Sigsworth all still absent and Tara Bourne also ruled out late on through injury. The previous day’s U21 cup final also meant that players like Connolly-Jackson, Butler and Wilcock missed out, although all three were on the bench. Charley Docherty started in an attacking role, Charlotte Newsham moved back into the middle and Ella Kinzett returned in midfield.

Not the strongest side United have fielded, then, and it made for a scrappy first half in particular where set-pieces were the main source of danger for either side. Sophie Haywood was as game as ever up top and managed to force a couple of shots inside the box, and it was from one of these – deflected behind – that the Blades took the lead.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Jodie Hutton swung over a deep corner to the far post, and centre-back Molly Graham rose highest to head back across goal and into the net. It was Graham’s first-ever senior goal, and she deservedly savoured the moment.

Molly Graham celebrates her goal with Charlotte Newsham and Ella Kinzett.

Prior to this, the players honoured Maddy Cusack one final time this season, with play stopping in the 8th minute of the game for a minute’s applause and tribute. Captain Sophie Barker, who played the first eight minutes wearing Maddy’s number 8 shirt, tweeted a message addressed to her late friend on the eve of the game:

“I need to let everyone know tomorrow is and was always about you and how it has been for me everyday I wake up and everytime I continue to put on our beloved shirt. [...]  On the 8th min the referee will blow the whistle and play will stop. I will stand in the middle of that pitch, the place you loved and the place we both called home. It will bring both a smile to my face and a tear to my eye when I stand there and look up at your face.”

It was another emotional moment at the Lane as we again remember Maddy’s tragic passing.

The football felt a little immaterial after that, but even so: Blackburn grabbed a surprise equaliser just after the half hour when defender Hannah Coan got away from Newsham at a corner to power in a header of her own (shoutout to Coan’s family who it turns out were sat behind me and very generously offered my 4yo some gratefully-accepted sweets!). 

Rovers took the lead almost immediately after half-time with a neat break that saw Newsham get pulled too far inside – here we see the effects of a few too many (enforced) changes to the lineup – and Lauren Thomas slid home a good finish. 

Centre-back Jade Richards headed a freekick onto the roof of the net before an identical set-piece did make it 3-1 – this time Hannah Silcock couldn’t miss after a rare mistake from Fran Stenson who missed her attempted punch.

That was the cue for United to turn to the bench, bringing on several players who had starred for the U21s less than 24 hours before: Eva Butler, Tamara Wilcock, Chene Muir and Ellie May were all introduced for Ash Hodson (who really struggled to get into this one), Docherty, Haywood and Kinzett. And this was the point where the game perked up as all four subs injected some life into the game – it was slightly baffling that United didn’t get at least one goal in these last 20 minutes.

Of the subs, it was Butler’s cameo that really made me sit up and take notice. We’ve seen flashes of her for the first team – and she really has crushed it for the U21s by all accounts this season – but this was an electric 20 minutes as a wide forward. She has brilliantly quick feet and terrorised Coan on the left side of the Rovers’ defence, constantly dribbling past and around her into the box.

She seemed determined to set up a team-mate rather than shoot herself and sent across plenty of inviting looking balls. It was exciting to watch – she’s 18 years old and has some skills that I don’t think anyone else in United’s first team currently possess. She looks ideally-suited to playing as a wide attacker who can get in the box herself. Definitely one to look forward to seeing more of when 2024/25 kicks off.

Ellie May was another one who impressed, including one superb dipping volley that forced a good save from the Blackburn keeper. I also really like the glimpses I’ve seen of Muir and Wilcock, both of whom look like decent, technical footballers who will maybe have a bigger role next season after another summer of full-time training. 

The full-time whistle was met with warm applause for the Blades’ efforts this season, despite the defeat – United finish seventh in the table. Elsewhere, Crystal Palace confirmed promotion to the Women’s Super League, with Bristol City relegated back to the Championship after one season in the top flight. At the other end of the table, we say goodbye to Lewes and Watford, with Newcastle and Portsmouth their confirmed replacements from the Women’s National League. Your final table for the 2023/24 season:

That’s a wrap on my weekly writeups for the season – but not the last you’ll hear from me just yet. I’ve got a few more pieces I want to write, including some season awards, thoughts on each individual player’s season, and a couple of other odds and ends. But thank you for reading along so far, sharing the word and helping me reach even more people. Appreciate every single reader. Look out for more over the next few weeks.