Article body analysed
Patrick Bamford scored his first goal since April 2024 in his first start for Sheffield United Patrick Bamford scored his first goal for 19 months as Sheffield United beat 10-man Portsmouth to move out of the Championship relegation zone. The England international, in his first start for the Blades, bundled the ball over the line from close range to add to Sydie Peck's first senior goal, with Gus Hamer adding a spectacular third to make it consecutive wins for Chris Wilder's side. Peck's penalty came after Pompey's Terry Devlin had been given a red card for handling Japhet Tanganga's thumping header on the line. The defeat leaves John Mousinho's Pompey, who have won just one of their past eight, only a point above the Blades and two points away from the bottom three. The Blades have now taken seven points from the last nine available, and they always looked like winning this clash of two teams who ended troubling winless runs last weekend. Fresh from comfortably winning the Sheffield derby at Hillsborough on Sunday, Wilder's side sought only a second home victory of the season but were on top throughout. Bamford, making his first start for his new club, flashed a half-volley wide while Jairo Riedewald could only guide a close-range side-footed volley into the hands of Portsmouth goalkeeper Nico Schmid. That chance exposed Pompey's recurring vulnerability at set-pieces, and it soon cost them as Sam Mc Callum's corner was met powerfully by Tanganga and Devlin instinctively threw out a hand to stop it crossing the line. Bamford clutched the ball but, at the last moment, handed it to Peck, who confidently found the bottom corner for his first senior goal in his 66th appearance for the club. Mc Callum drove another good chance straight at Schmid but in the second half his deliveries from corners continued to pay dividends as he again found the head of Tanganga, with the ball rebounding off the bar for Bamford to bundle home. The 32-year-old was released by Leeds in the summer after failing to make a start, or score a goal, as they were promoted back to the Premier League last season, and he signed a short-term deal at Bramall Lane a fortnight ago. Hamer, who only returned from a six-week injury lay-off at the weekend, capped a great night for the Blades by sending a swerving, dipping shot past Schmid from 30 yards, while Danny Ings was denied a fourth by a tight offside call. This video can not be played Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder told BBC Radio Sheffield: "A lot of people would be having a peek at us to see how we approached the game after an emphatic win on Sunday, and I thought the players were really good tonight - a lot of boxes ticked, another step forward, another test passed. "It's not always easy to play against 10 men but I told the players not to get bored of doing the right things, don't get bored of being a decent team, and I thought we looked a decent team tonight. "The direction of the game changed with the penalty and sending-off but you still have to go and earn the right and we did that. " This video can not be played Portsmouth boss John Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent: "For 40 minutes there was absolutely nothing in it, and that was the biggest disappointment. We had a game plan out of possession and I thought we executed that very, very well, restricting Sheffield United to very little. "We had so many opportunities in the final third to show more quality and we didn't do that, after I watched a side with a huge amount of quality in the final third on Saturday. "The red card comes from that. We sling a pointless cross into the box, [Michael] Cooper springs a counter-attack, we concede a corner, and the game changes from that point. Those fine details we need to get better at. On conceding from set-pieces: "It's something we're concerned about. We lose the first contact, haven't marked aggressively enough or well enough and you are going to get punished. " After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Last Updated 26th November 2025 at 22: 01 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Chris Wilder Formation: 4 - 2 - 2 - 2 Manager: John Mousinho Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Chris Wilder Formation: 4 - 2 - 2 - 2 Manager: John Mousinho Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Championship All competitions All competitions All competitions Sheffield United won their last league game against Portsmouth in March, last winning consecutive meetings with Pompey in August 2000. Portsmouth are winless in their last 24 away league games against Sheffield United (D4 L20), since a 3-1 win in November 1955. It’s both the Blades’ longest unbeaten home run against a side and Pompey’s longest winless away run in their league histories. Sheffield United have won just one of their last eight home league games (D2 L5), while they’ve also failed to score more than once in any of these games. Having won their first away league game of the season against Oxford, Portsmouth are now winless in their last six on the road (D3 L3). Sheffield United have had just two different players score for them at Bramall Lane this season, with Tyrese Campbell netting their first two home goals and Callum O’Hare the last two. Match ends, Sheffield United 3, Portsmouth 0. Second Half ends, Sheffield United 3, Portsmouth 0. Foul by Mark Mc Guinness (Sheffield United). Makenzie Kirk (Portsmouth) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Fourth official has announced 4 minutes of added time. Offside, Sheffield United. Danny Ings is caught offside. Offside, Sheffield United. Danny Ings is caught offside. Attempt missed. Gustavo Hamer (Sheffield United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Callum O'Hare. Attempt saved. Andre Brooks (Sheffield United) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is saved in the top centre of the goal by Nicolas Schmid (Portsmouth). Assisted by Gustavo Hamer. Attempt blocked. Gustavo Hamer (Sheffield United) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Substitution, Sheffield United. Mark Mc Guinness replaces Femi Seriki. Substitution, Sheffield United. Djibril Soumaré replaces Jairo Riedewald. Callum O'Hare (Sheffield United) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Andre Dozzell (Portsmouth). Corner, Sheffield United. Conceded by Zak Swanson. Substitution, Sheffield United. Danny Ings replaces Thomas Cannon. Substitution, Portsmouth. Yang Min-Hyeok replaces Florian Bianchini. Substitution, Portsmouth. Marlon Pack replaces Márk Kosznovszky. Goal! Sheffield United 3, Portsmouth 0. Gustavo Hamer (Sheffield United) right footed shot from outside the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Callum O'Hare following a corner. Corner, Sheffield United. Conceded by Josh Knight. Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.


