Sheffield United were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw away at Swansea City on Saturday afternoon, meaning Chris Wilder’s side have begun the new Championship campaign with back-to-back goalless draws.
The Swans made the brighter start at the Swansea.com Stadium and enjoyed a sustained spell of pressure, with Yeo driving into the penalty area before being crowded out.
Idah also showed some neat touches in the final third as Swansea looked to build momentum, but the hosts were unable to turn their early dominance into a clear-cut opportunity.
United gradually grew into the contest, though, and came closest to breaking the deadlock before the interval.
A well-worked move saw the ball played into the channel for Oli Arblaster, who raced forward before delivering into the box. His cross took a touch off Sydie Peck, allowing Callum O’Hare to take control before unleashing an effort which rattled the crossbar.
The Blades continued to threaten, with Joe Rothwell and Peck both seeing efforts blocked as Wilder’s side began to find their rhythm.
Sam McCallum then went close moments before the interval when he connected with a header, forcing Swansea goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux into a save to ensure the scores remained level at the break.
Swansea threatened again shortly after the restart, with Yeo seeing an effort blocked following a cross from Idah.
United responded at the other end when Rothwell delivered a corner into a dangerous area, but Japhet Tanganga could only direct his header over the crossbar.
Wilder’s side continued to probe in search of an opening as the second half progressed.
O’Hare sent a dangerous delivery into the area which Seriki managed to keep alive before pulling the ball back towards Peck. The midfielder’s subsequent effort, however, was comfortably gathered by Vigouroux.
United then came agonisingly close to finally breaking the deadlock. Peck produced a clever pass in behind the Swansea defence, allowing Seriki to race towards the by-line. His low delivery was heading towards Patrick Bamford, who appeared poised to finish from close range, only for a deflection to take the ball away from the United striker.
It proved to be one of the Blades’ best opportunities of the afternoon, with the visitors ultimately having to settle for another point.
The result means United have now opened the 2026/27 Championship campaign with two consecutive 0-0 draws, following last weekend’s stalemate with Birmingham City at Bramall Lane.
While the lack of goals will be a frustration, Wilder felt his side had done enough to nick a tight contest.
Chris Wilder Makes “Frustrated” Comment After Draw
Speaking after the game to SUTV, the United boss admitted: “A little bit frustrated because I think we’ve done enough to nick a tight game.”
Wilder acknowledged the difficulty of United’s opening two fixtures, with both Birmingham and Swansea expected to compete towards the top end of the Championship this season.
He added: “We had a couple of disappointments with Chongy and Ryan Oné before the game that we had to deal with. We changed our shape, and that wasn’t a shape to be negative because it can’t be when you statistically outperform the opposition. You know we got beat up and bashed a little bit last week in terms of the numbers that came out and hopefully those same people will be looking at the numbers today.”
Wilder on Transfer Latest
Attention will now turn away from the pitch, with Wilder confirming that the club remain active in the transfer market.
“We’ve put a couple of bids in for a couple of players on loan so hopefully we get positive response to those clubs over the weekend,” Wilder admitted. “We go into game mode sort of Friday, especially the cutoff time at 12 o’clock, we always go into the game mode of getting the game done and then it’s recovery tomorrow. But there’s people working away who understand my needs. I’m, as you can imagine, on them 24/7 with the hammer down because it is important to improve this group of players.”
Sheffield United are next in action in the EFL Cup in midweek when they take on fellow Championship side Blackburn Rovers.
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