It wasn't pretty to watch and at times back to the wall, but in the end we got the job done and got back to winning ways and are now within spitting distance of the promotion places, sometimes you have to win ugly.

Saints win at Sheffield United see us sit 14th in the table with 10 points, exactly the same total that Russell Martin's promotion winning side two years had at the same stage back in 2024.

We now sit just 3 points behind the automatic promotion places and 4 points behind Stoke in 2nd place, of course nobody can say we have been good over the past few weeks, but we are still hanging on in there and on Tuesday night Saints showed that they can battle and win ugly and now with the confidence that this win brings we can hopefully start to win games and move forward.

There was no shocks in Will Still's starting line up, at least none that we didn't have on Saturday.

This was always going to be a tough game, yes the Blades were rock bottom of the Championship, but with Chris Wilder now back in charge for the God knows how many time and a win at Oxford under their belts just 3 days earlier, we were facing a team with new momentum and confidence.

In the first half in the main we looked comfortable but we failed to capitalise and it was the home side who took the lead on 28 minutes and again their was a suspicion that both our defence and goalkeeper should have done better, the scorer went past Quarshie too easily and Alex McCarthy went to ground far too quickly for a shot that went in at head height.

We kept going though and should have gone in at the break on level terms, but Adam Armstrong missed the penalty.

At half time there were two strange changes, Finn Azaz hasn't quite caught fire here yet and on came Jay Robinson, but truly baffling was the removal of Tom Fellows who was playing without fear and making some great runs and dribbles.

The Blades with their manager Chris Wilder now in the stands for childish petulance after the penalty incident came out of the traps first and it took McCarthy to redeem himself with a great save soon after the break to stop Saints going two goals down.

Minutes later the Blades paid the price when a superb header from Adam Armstrong came back off the bar and Ross Stewart fired home through a crowd of players to level things, 7 minutes later and we were in front, Jay Robinson slipping the ball to Stewart who scored from 25 yards with a great shot into the top corner.

Now the game had really turned and the Blades were wilder than they were for the penalty given.

With half an hour to go we had the lead and they had nothing to lose and poured forward, however we showed we had resilience and dug in, in the 75th minute Will Still made a double change to bring on Flynn Downes in the centre and Mads Roerslev to give us fresh legs.

The Blades poured forward with pace, but we defended well and had the strength at the back to defend the crosses into the box.

There was only one moment when it looked like it had been thrown away when in the 89th minute when Peck headed home a corner at the far post, it looked like McCarthy was flapping, but he was being held down and unable to jump and with the referee clearly blowing before Peck's header the Sheffield man got in an unchallenged header that he might not have got if the referee had not already blown.

So at the end of the day three points and we are now only 4 points off the Automatic promotion spot, I know it is all ifs and buts, however that gap would be smaller had we held on against Boro on Saturday.

We now have a two game unbeaten run and are growing in confidence and beginning to find identity on the pitch and more to the point we have a very strong bench that will be useful going forward.

We have three strikers proven at Championship level and a fourth in Damian Downs who is adapting to the English game.

The resurgence of Ross Stewart last night was a real boost, he did not just score two superb goals but was a threat all night, his aerial strength gave us something we have been lacking, two great headers in the first half saw two great saves from the home keeper, many had written him off but he could well yet be the hero of this season.

That is why we should not yet write off Damian Downs, we should remember his superb goal against Espanyol in pre season that showed that he has something about him and give him leeway and the benefit of the doubt for a little while yet, with Armstrong, Stewart & Archer all in front of him at present, he has time to develop and could well contribute something this season.

There are precedents for this, Shea Charles was written off two years ago, yet he is now starring after time out on loan, likewise Ronnie Edwards and Nathan Wood who both were strong at the back last evening, they couldn't get a game last season, but at Championship level are class and Championship level is what we need this season, we can worry about Premier Level if we get back there.

So no one will be completely pleased with last nights performance, but it was a big step forward and proof that we are promotion contenders

We have to give the manager and his side time to show that they can mount a promotion challenge, we have to give them the benefit of the doubt, there will be mistakes, but hopefully the mistakes will not be as frequent as the high spots.

This was a big win for Will Still, he needed to get it under his belt, the result was always going to be more important than the performance, but we are now moving forward and if we can make it two wins in a row at Derby on Saturday then we will truly be on the right path.

All Photos Via Reuters

Boris1977 added 10:16 - Oct 1 Great following up north for an evening game during the week again. Brilliant support
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SaintPaulVW added 10:30 - Oct 1 We are far from perfect but we seem to be developing a bit of a spine. After last season that is a big improvement. Ross Stewart and Armstrong, aside from the miss, played well. Similarly McCarthy, aside from the goal, I thought he had more of a chance of saving than Saturday's. I think we are just going to have to put up with mistakes with the level of players that we have. Similarly, Still has a win at all costs approach so he's going to try things that don't work - taking Fellows off, who was playing well, struck of that. Amazing how 7 points separates relegation places from the playoffs. We now have to build on these last two results with a win at Derby. COYR

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IanRC added 10:59 - Oct 1 My points from the game 1. Ross Stewart is starting to show what he is capable of and that will be a major boost for us if he keeps it up 2. Good that AA's miss didn't affect him after the break another big plus point him coming into form. Good to see Cameron Archer getting some time too, against a tiring defence he could be very useful. 3. Despite his error for the goal I hope Quarshie keeps his place as that defence, whilst not perfect, is a huge improvement 4. I am not wholly convinced by Roestov but let's see. 5. Charles is becoming a great player for us and Jander looks like he may be one of the buys of the season. 6. I thought Azaz and Fellows had quieter games last night. 7. Robertson is a great find but he is going to need to toughen up as too often he was pushed off the ball when he came on. A word too for the referee who I thought had a very good game, the only exception being the failure to send off the Blades player for the two footed aerial foul in the first half. Many would not have spotted the holding of McCarthy or would have bowed to the home crowds wishes.

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Colburn added 11:38 - Oct 1 Fellows fell victim of the problem we had on the other side of the pitch where Manning and Armstrong gave us no width in attack, this meant the blades could doubt up on Fellows. Stewart dug Armstrong out of a hole last night, as mentioned before the game, how many opportunities win be missed before Armstrong gets a goal, last night showed that. Why is he still taking the penalties when he keeps missing them? Stewart should take them. The best player in the last 3 games has been, without a doubt, Jander.. what a fantastic player we have managed to grab there.. he didn’t even get a mention by the total saints podcast on Sunday so I don’t know what games they watched..? He is the difference maker in the midfield, what a player. My frustration with Manning playing as a left wing back boiled over as he gave us absolutely nothing in attack. A good left back but clueless with the ball at his feet in the oppos half and this will be to our detriment moving forward. He hasn’t once got to the byline or made a run inside and that is the purpose of wing backs when attacking. Not his fault, a good left back but not a wing back by any stretch. McCarthy although someone I struggle to see as a solid keeper, nearly gave away a goal because of dithering with the ball at his feet but he pulled off a wonder save from OHare in the second half after the defence switched off from a free kick. Assume Fraser is being punished for gobbing off about his team mates after the Hull game, why can’t he keep his mouth shut!!? Wasn’t that why Eddie Howe wanted him gone from Bournemouth? We don’t need that sort of retraction from our desire to win games and finish top 2. This has to be addressed and squashed immediately or he can train with the kids imo. Overall a better look in the last 2 games and a relief to see Stewy find his feet.

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Bowlercow added 12:16 - Oct 1 Yes there is as always work to do However you could see and feel the belief coming into that team Please Will don't go back to the old guard unless fatigue or discipline requires it
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WestSussexSaint added 13:07 - Oct 1 Fair write up and one of those occasions when the result was more important than the performance. It seems that WS either by design or fortune has now found a system and players that work, so while there was the odd individual error I agree with the sentiment of others that this should be our core group until form or fatigue dictates otherwise. Certainly the young defenders will benefit hugely from regular playing time and consistency. Wood continues to impress and is the best defender at the club at the moment. Really pleased for Ross Stewart and hopefully this means he can now go on a run of goals and goal contributions. In terms of Downs you maybe right about needing time but if the club persist in buying players that need a season or two to develop they need to marry that up with some that are the finished article and can contribute now. Finally on the ref. If I were a Sheffield Utd supporter I suspect the comments about being a “good ref” would be markedly different. I think the penalty award was soft and the disallowed goal would be given more times than not. I’m not saying that I don’t appreciate the decisions going our way this time but that doesn’t mean the ref was any better than some we have seen earlier this season, we were just the beneficiary this time.

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underweststand added 13:57 - Oct 1 Needless to say 3 points is welcome anytime, (but as NIck said) it wasn't pretty at times, but we have played better and lost, so I think we should be glad for the result. As a long standing critic of McCarthy I have to admit that he made some excellent saves, and given the chances we can see that Wood has the makings of a good CB along with Edwards. Despite Adam A.'s miss (yes they've all done it at times) the combination of him and Stewart has the look of a good strike pair, something we have missed for quite a while. However, the best to last is that Ross Stewart has started to "look the part" let's hope his fitness continues to improve. A good result at Derby would put another complexion on the rest of the season.

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halftimeorange added 14:02 - Oct 1 I thought Wood was outstanding. Everything seems to go through him at the back and he's always talking to his fellow central defenders. The problem we have seems to be getting the ball from defence past midway in the opposition's half. Last night the first half became tedious as we went regularly backwards instead of taking on their defenders but, Will Still must have geed them up at the interval as things did improve. As for Stewart, his pre-Saints record shows him to be a potentially prolific goal scorer, so let's hope the floodgates have now opened for him. We definitely have a way to go to be promotion candidates and some players will fall by the wayside as others grasp their chances, that's inevitable, as is some disappointing results on our way up but, thing are looking brighter.

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IanRC added 14:28 - Oct 1 WestSussexSaint, regarding the referee, I am sure you are correct that Blades fans would have a very different view. The facts remain however that Stewart was tripped with no contact on the ball by the keeper and McCarthy was clearly (from the tvs viewpoint) held down for their late ‘equaliser’. On to Derby then COYR.
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PezzaSaint added 07:38 - Oct 2 I agree with Ian RC, I think the referee got all the major decisions right. Their goalkeeper was trying to avoid colliding with Stewart, but his momentum took him into the striker. Penalty correct decision! Furthermore, Mccarthy was being held for their disallowed goal, their player making limited or no effort to attack the ball. Disallowed goal correct decision. Finally, dismissing Wilder for his petulance, correct decision! Don’t like the narrative that the game was too big for the referee. The guy has got to a ‘bigger’ game sooner or later and in my view he should be supported because he got things right👍🏻

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