Derby County 1-2 Sheffield United: Blades Show Steel to End Season With Comeback Win
Derby County 1-2 Sheffield United: Blades Show Steel to End Season With Comeback Win Sheffield United ended the 2025/26 Championship season with a comeback 2-1 victory over Derby County at Pride Park on Saturday afternoon. Sammie Szmodics gave the Rams the lead in the first half from close range as the home side looked to sneak into the play-offs on the final day. But the Blades roared back in the second half when Tom Cannon showed superb composure to find the bottom right corner amid several attempted blocks from the Derby defenders before Sydie Peck powered home from the edge of the box to secure three points.
Lineups Derby: Zetterstrom, Forsyth (Fraulo 74), Clarke, Langas, Morris, Ozoh (Salvesen 74), Szmodics, Ward, Brereton-Diaz (Johnston 68), Travis, Banel (Clark 59). Unused: Vickers, Barth, Sanderson, Eames, Allen. Blades: Davies, Tanganga, Arblaster (Rothwell 63), Cannon (Chong 63), Hamer (Ings 72), O’Hare (Riedewald 85), Burrows, McGuinness, Seriki (Hoever 63), Peck, Bamford.
Unused: Betts, Soumare, Sasnauskas, McGlinchey. First Half Derby began on the front foot, as might have been expected given the context, and quickly looked to impose themselves. They had already spurned an opportunity that appeared marginally offside when they struck the opener, Sammie Szmodics reacting quickest in the box to turn home from close range following a series of corners.
A quarter of an hour in, United started to steady themselves. Hamer forced Zetterstrom into action from a free kick, while the game took on a more physical edge. Before the interval, Hamer tried his luck from distance, and Burrows was cautioned for a late challenge on Brereton Díaz as tensions simmered.
Second Half The second half opened in relatively subdued fashion. Tanganga picked up a booking for a foul on Morris, but the contest came alive just past the hour mark. A short back pass from Ward invited pressure, and United capitalised ruthlessly, Hamer and Bamford combining to create the opening before Tom Cannon calmly finished from 12 yards to level the scores.