Match Report: Sheff Utd 1 Boro 3

Boro turned over high-flying Sheffield United on their own turf to claim a 3-1 victory at Bramall Lane.

Responding in style to an early setback, Chuba Akpom fired us level in the 25th minute before a second-half double from Cameron Archer completed the turnaround.

Buoyed on by a sell-out following of 2,715, Boro carved out the first real opportunity of the evening.

After playing a neat one-two with Ryan Giles, Archer bent a shot at goal from distance, testing the palms of Wes Foderingham.

Yet, from the save, Sheffield United sprung into a counter-attack, resulting in a throw-in on the left touchline.

The Blades piled bodies into the area for John Egan’s long throw and Oli McBurnie nodded in from close range.

James McAtee and Iliman Ndiaye both had chances to increase the lead, though Zack Steffen’s presence was enough to halt United’s progress on each occasion.

Leading Championship goalscorer Akpom vied to add another to his impressive tally as Boro broke through midfield but his effort from 20 yards was blocked by the Blades.

A clever dummy by Marcus Forss then allowed Riley McGree to lay the ball back in the penalty area as Forss sent a powerful drive over the crossbar.

From the corner of the area, Tommy Smith also tried to beat Foderingham with power, the right-back flashing his shot just above the woodwork.

But Boro’s persistence down the right would soon pay dividends as Akpom notched his 18th goal of a glittering season.

Picking up the ball from Forss inside the box, Boro’s no.29 shimmied past Anel Ahmedhodzic in brilliant fashion before firing past Foderingham into the corner.

Archer’s nimble footwork caused havoc for United’s defenders all evening and his latest effort needed a strong block to prevent the Blades keeper from being called into action once more.

From the clearance, Boro almost profited from Jonny Howson’s scooped delivery but Akpom’s shot was somehow kept out by Foderingham.

Another driving run forward from Akpom saw him pick out McGree, who saw his slammed shot crash into the side netting.

Michael Carrick could count himself unfortunate that his side were not ahead at the midway point of proceedings, yet Boro rectified that in immediate fashion at the start of the second half.

Ryan Giles was battling away on the edge of the area when the ball was taken away from him via a sliding tackle from Oliver Norwood.

However, the midfielder’s intervention saw it fall into the path of Cameron Archer, who fired past Foderingham.

Archer almost had his second of the evening minutes later when he broke free of the United defence but Ahmedhodzic recovered just in time to turn behind for a corner.

After shrugging off Egan and working an opening, Archer again tried his luck; this time blasting wide of the post.

Ryan Giles also saw an effort fly over the bar before Howson crucially timed his jump to perfection to deny McBurnie.

Boro soon had the two-goal cushion our dominance deserved and, unsurprisingly, it came through Archer.

A strong tackle by Dael Fry saw the Teessiders create an overload in the middle of the United half as Hayden Hackney strode forward.

His slick pass found Archer inside the area and the forward made no mistake in slipping the ball into the corner.

Steffen then had to be on full alert to keep out a low shot from substitute Daniel Jebbison, a strong left hand turning it behind.

Carrick responded with two changes of his own as Forss and double goalscorer Archer made way for Matt Crooks and Aaron Ramsey.

From a free-kick, Giles flashed an effort over before Alex Mowatt was introduced for four minutes of stoppage time.