Sheffield United 4-1 Cardiff City: Iliman Ndiaye on target as Blades inch closer to automatic promotion

Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Sheffield United and Cardiff City at Bramall Lane as goals from James McAtee, Jack Robinson, Iliman Ndiaye and Ciaran Clark helped the Blades move closer to securing automatic promotion

Dan Long

Digital football journalist @DanLong__

Saturday 15 April 2023 17:03, UK

Sheffield United moved closer to securing automatic promotion to the Premier League by coming from behind to beat Cardiff 4-1 at Bramall Lane.

Sory Kaba took his tally to five goals in seven games when he gave the Bluebirds a surprise lead from the penalty spot, but Manchester City loanee James McAtee levelled with an impressive solo goal, before a spectacular diving header from Jack Robinson made it 2-1.

Cardiff substitute Connor Wickham struck the woodwork as the visitors chased an equaliser, but Iliman Ndiaye slammed in a third and Ciaran Clark prodded in from a yard out to take the game away from Sabri Lamouchi's relegation-threatened side.

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A fifth win in seven games sees the Blades maintain their five-point lead over third-placed Luton with five games to play, while Cardiff remain precariously perched in 21st, only outside the bottom three on goal difference.

How the Blades put Cardiff to the sword

It did not take long for Cardiff to show they were going to make it hard for their hosts. Jaden Philogene stepped in off the right and sent a shot wide from 25 yards, and it took significant effort for the Blades to clear their lines a few minutes later after a misplaced pass from Tommy Doyle caused panic in the box.

Sheffield United kept the ball well, but had little to show for it - and they fell behind after 19 minutes, when Kaba continued his hot streak in front of goal by converting a penalty after Max Lowe had caught Jack Simpson with a high boot.

The hosts were level within five minutes, though. It came from a moment of inspiration from McAtee, who collected possession and held off the challenge of Andy Rinomhota before dispatching a left-footed shot underneath Ryan Allsop.

It was not long after the restart that the comeback was completed. Cardiff failed to deal with a corner with any sort of urgency, which allowed Doyle to lift in a beauty of a cross to the far post, where Robinson dived to head in a stylish second.

Wickham's shot that hit the crossbar came after a sustained spell of pressure, but there was to be no way back into the game for the visitors thereafter.

Ndiaye ran onto Mark McGuiness' ill-advised pass back to Allsop, rounded the goalkeeper and rattled in to make it 3-1 and Clark was on hand to prod in after a corner to complete a confident, if a touch flattering victory for the hosts.

Player of the match - Tommy Doyle

The managers

Sheffield United's Paul Heckingbottom:

"The fact we won 4-1 after going behind shows a lot about the group. It's not the first time in recent weeks. It says a lot about what we are trying to do. Our message has been the same regardless of what the outside narrative is. We knew it was going to be tough, Cardiff are scrapping for their lives and we knew they would throw everything at us and try and impose their style. We were prepared for them to try and create stoppages but that doesn't mean it's not frustrating. It can have an effect on our crowd.

"James (McAtee) has been doing what he did today more and more, we can see that in training and now in games. He's been growing into the Championship and it's these things we wanted to sign him for. We have put ourselves into a position where it's about us. It was the same at Sunderland and Blackburn - we went behind and it was the same today. The really pleasing thing is it says a lot about our character. We talk a lot about not panicking in any situation and that really helps at this stage of the season.

"Yes, Middlesbrough won again and Luton's form is unreal. It feels strange because of the run we went on last year. Nothing we are doing is a fluke, we have been sustaining it for a long time. Every time we win the margin of error gets tighter for the teams chasing us."

Cardiff's Sabri Lamouchi:

"When you lose it's never a good day. Of course, I'm not happy with the result. I'm not happy because today my players deserved something else. But we need to take care of the small details. Unfortunately with the small mistakes and small details against us, it is like it is. We started the game very well and I can say that the first half was very good. We probably deserved to stay ahead, because they score with their first shot and we could score our second with Joe (Ralls) in that one-on-one with the keeper. We missed our chance to increase the score or to come back in the game.

"But given it was like that, we need to be more of a killer in the two boxes and not give anything away. Against a good team like Sheffield United it's a mistake and you pay. We take it game by game. We have five games to play. One more than the others, it will be five finals. But as I said to my players, if we play like we played today, we will not so unlucky. If we take care of the small details, we can avoid the small mistakes, and we can maybe have a different result."

What's next?

Sheffield United are back in action at 7.45pm on Tuesday April 18, when they face Bristol City at Bramall Lane. Cardiff, meanwhile, face Watford at Vicarage Road 24 hours later.

Both matches will be available to watch live across Sky Sports.