BRISTOL CITY 0-3 SHEFFIELD UNITED: Rob Dickie’s red card cost the Robins dear as Harrison Burrows converted from the spot and the Blades scored twice more after the break
After puffs of white smoke above the Vatican, Rob Dickie’s cardinal sin cost Bristol City dearly.
Dickie’s second red card of the season against Sheffield United, for hauling down Wales striker Kieffer Moore in first half added time, handed the Blades the keys to Wembley.
From the moment Harrison Burrows buried the resulting spot-kick, United seized their chance to enjoy the comfort zone, a rare luxury on the tightrope torture of football’s £200 million lottery.
Play-off semi-finals can often be as cagey as Whipsnade Zoo, but there were few inhibitions about the Blades’ convincing display in this prizefight at Ashton Gate.
Only the third team to reach 90 points in the Championship without going up automatically, Chris Wilder’s men were never going to come quietly.
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They were purposeful, assertive and now Bramall Lane will be a rocking fortress in Monday night’s return leg.
But Wilder will be first to admit they owed their place on Easy Street to Dickie’s misadventure, a challenge which belonged to all-in wrestling.
Across the road in Greville Smith Park, the air was thick with pyrotechnic toys – more flares than the dance floor in Saturday Night Fever.
But the partying fans were getting their playtime in early because both clubs’ record in the play-offs reads like a threatening letter.
City’s six promotion attempts have led to six failures, most recently in the 2008 final against Hull, and now it looks like being an unmagnificent seven.
The Blades, on the other hand, took a giant step towards ending their 100 per cent record of disappointment: Nine dips in the tombola, nine heartbreaks.
On VE Day, Robins fans turned to Winston Churchill for inspiration on their pre-match banner: “It is victory, victory at all costs” – but their team didn’t get the message.
After 11 minutes Tyrese Campbell bundled home Jack Robinson’s long throw, only to be denied by a very late and contentious flag.
And with City’s nerves jangling like a nightclub lothario’s bling, keeper Max O’Leary thwarted Campbell with his legs from Rhian Brewster’s low centre
The Blades’ only escape was Robins midfielder Joe Williams – who hasn’t scored since 2022 – shuddering the bar with a thunderous 25-yard hit before he was forced to retire hurt with an ankle injury.
Then came the turning point, and much as home fans howled at referee Oliver Langford’s sanction, a straight red was his only option.
Burrows scored confidently from the spot, his sixth goal of the season, and City did not just have a mountain to climb: They were trying to scale Everest in flip-flops.
The Blades always looked likely to stretch their advantage, and 17 minutes from time sub Andre Brooks swept home Burrows’ cross to give them broad daylight in the tie.
Six minutes later, fellow sub Callum O’Hare turned home from close range to leave Wilder on Easy Street, and the second leg should be a formality.
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