O'Hare winner ends Sheffield United's home hoodoo
Struggling Sheffield United finally registered its first home win of the EFL Championship season with a 1-0 victory over Watford, whose first outing of Javi Gracia's return as boss did not go to plan.
Callum O'Hare scored the only goal of the game in the 59th minute as the Blades moved up a spot to 23rd on the table, above rival Sheffield Wednesday, which is bottom of the league after a 2-1 defeat at Charlton Athletic.
O'Hare scored the only goal at Oxford United to give Chris Wilder's men their only other win this season in the manager's second game back, and he delivered again from close range here to seal a vital victory that may prove to be a turning point for a team many thought would be pushing for promotion.
"It was in the 93rd minute and I got asked the question by one of the punters. He said 'why do you do it?'," Wilder said after another stressful afternoon on the sidelines.
"I've got to say that for about 10 seconds, I scratched my head and I thought 'why do I do it?'.
"Then that roar at the final whistle, I knew then why I do it and all those who come know it – to follow your team, regardless of whether you're top of the league or at the bottom, it's for these moments. I've had a lot of moments like this and this group is trying to produce more of them.
"The players gave everything for that shirt today and everybody in the ground saw that.
"I've said to them afterwards, 'Don't kid me, don't kid the punters. That's the bare minimum we need to produce'."
Gracia, another boss returning to a former employer, was left frustrated after chances went begging in what he felt was a pretty even contest.
"You have to take this chance. If you don't, it's normal that the team playing at home, they find some moments and they play better. They created some chances and they scored the goal," he said.
"It was an equal game where the details made the difference. That's all."
