Sheffield United produced their best performance of the season to ease to a third successive win against local rivals Sheffield Wednesday.
Two goals from Tyrese Campbell, coupled with a stoppage-time effort from Tom Cannon, were enough for Chris Wilder to continue his unbeaten streak against the Owls.
Toothless Wednesday Punished Early Again
Wednesday started brightly, looking to end their longest goal drought in the history of the Steel City derby. Barry Bannan was at the forefront of the Owls’ first opportunity, sliding a lovely ball through to Svante Ingelsson. In turn, the Swedish midfielder sent a dangerous ball across goal, which caused a moment of confusion between the 2 Blades centre-halves, before being cleared.
At the other end, United won the first corner of the game and caused plenty of problems from the ensuing set-piece. Sydie Peck went short, and the ball was fizzed low into the penalty area for Campbell to fire over at the near post. But his next opportunity was clinically dispatched to give United an eleventh-minute lead.
Yan Valery was dispossessed by Jairo Riedewald, sending the ball into the feet of Callum O’Hare. Driving into the area, a cute ball to his left found Campbell, who sent the ball into the bottom right corner, beyond the despairing Max Lowe on the goalline. For the sixth time at Hillsborough this season, Wednesday had a deficit to recover from inside in the opening 20 minutes.
Your derby day Owls 🦉@MrVegas_Casino pic.twitter.com/ifNTAaV5U2
— Sheffield Wednesday (@swfc) November 23, 2025
Henrik Pedersen’s side were fortunate that they didn’t have a mountain to climb 17 minutes in. Dominic Iorfa sent a back-pass well short to Ethan Horvath, and Danny Ings reacted fastest. But the Blades forward found the on-loan Cardiff City goalkeeper quick off his line to smother the chance.
Iorfa, who later went off in the half with a back injury, was shrugged off the ball by the goalscorer, but recovered well to make a sliding intervention. Before the centre-back was replaced by Liam Cooper, Ings had the ball in the net, but it was chalked off. Another set-piece was recycled to Campbell, but he found his fellow Blades forward in a marginal offside position.
Deja-Vu
Whatever Pedersen said at half-time went out the window minutes into the second period. Firstly, O’Hare slid an excellent ball through to Campbell, but he could only find the side netting. But, like in the opening 45, his second opportunity of the half proved decisive.
Lowe’s clearance was sent back with interest by Peck, catching Cooper flat-footed. Campbell was anything but that, latching onto the ball, driving goalwards and finding the far corner for his and United’s second goal of the afternoon. Wednesday have scored just 3 home goals this season, and any hopes of a fightback vanished.
Since you asked so nicely x https://t.co/B2owaZ6l8J pic.twitter.com/NTZYImAji1
— Sheffield United (@SheffieldUnited) November 23, 2025
It was a sorry afternoon for the Owls, who offered little in response. Former Blade Lowe was sarcastically cheered by his former supporters when he sent a shot from distance high into the Kop. Bailey Cadamarteri looked bright off the bench, but was helpless in changing the outcome of this afternoon’s game.
Killer Third Goal
As the final minutes ticked away, United looked for a third. Patrick Bamford, off the bench for his debut, sent fellow substitute Tom Cannon bearing down on goal. But a heavy touch made Horvath’s task easier, taking nothing away from the save, as the dinked effort was kept out by the Wednesday keeper.
Bamford himself should have had a dream debut when Femi Sekiri found him in the middle, but his backwards flick was saved. United were swarming forward in numbers and eventually found that elusive third as Cannon got his goal. With the chance opening up, he found the far corner from outside the area, via a deflection off Liam Palmer, which took the ball beyond Horvath.
After Charlie McNeil sent a rasping drive wide, referee David Webb brought Wednesday’s misery to an end. Despite the struggles of both this season, United finally showed the quality at their disposal to move to within a point of safety. The Owls are rooted to the bottom, 18 points adrift of 21st-placed Norwich City.
