Sheffield United paid a poignant tribute to Maddy Cusack ahead of Sunday’s Premier League match against Newcastle.

The 27-year-old, who was the longest-serving player in the Blades’ women’s side and also worked in the club’s commercial department, died earlier this week.

Boss Paul Heckingbottom said on Friday that the club were “suffering” following the tragic news and they paid a fitting tribute ahead of Sunday afternoon’s game at Bramall Lane.

The Blades, who worked with Cusack’s family over how they could commemorate her, redesigned their matchday programme to put a picture of their midfielder on the front and the flag at Bramall Lane flew at half-mast.

There was a eulogy read out, accompanied by a video tribute on the big screen, before kick-off, with United great Tony Currie and women’s captain Sophie Barker accompanying Cusack’s mum and sister when laying a wreath on the centre circle.

United entered the pitch wearing shirts with Cusack’s name and number eight on the back and also wore black armbands, while club staff were dressed in black ties.

There was a minute’s silence before kick-off, impeccably observed by all four sides of the ground, while Newcastle chief executive Amanda Staveley also laid flowers outside the stadium before the game.

In the eighth minute fans stood for a minute’s applause to remember Cusack.

A Football Association arbitration hearing ruled in favour of Sheffield United in their claim for compensation from West Ham over the Carlos Tevez third-party ownership affair, on this day in 2008.

The Blades were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2006-07 season when West Ham beat Manchester United 1-0 to secure top-flight safety, with Tevez scoring the only goal of the game.

However, the Hammers were fined a record £5.5million by the Premier League for fielding Tevez and Javier Mascherano as they were ineligible to play under league rules regarding third-party ownership.

Sheffield United wanted to have their place in the Premier League reinstated, insisting a monetary fine was insufficient, but after failing in this regard they aimed to achieve financial settlement.

Regarding the ruling, then-Blades chairman Kevin McCabe said: “I can confirm that both clubs have been notified of the ruling. The arbitration panel has awarded in our favour.

“The matter is still legally in process so I do not wish to comment any further until we have completed that process.”

A statement released by West Ham said: “The club need to digest the full findings of the arbitration panel and will consult lawyers before considering the next steps that we might take on this matter. It would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage.”

Both clubs eventually reached an out-of-court settlement over the Tevez affair in March 2009, with the agreement being described as “satisfactory settlement for compensation”.

Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom says football is the “worst sport” for racism after goalkeeper Wes Foderingham was abused during last week’s defeat at Tottenham.

Foderingham took to Instagram on Sunday to reveal he had suffered from “racism and family threats” after his side’s 2-1 loss in north London.

Heckingbottom said the police are now involved and could not hide his contempt that racism is still so prevalent in the game.

He said: “You can say it’s all social media and people are tough on there and they can say what they want. You can take it away, but it is deeper than that because it’s inside people.

“It’s sad, I think we are the worst sport for it. I don’t know if it’s the profile but we are the ones who get the most.

“There have been big improvements, in society and our game, so we have to just continue being harder and stronger and every time we get a prosecution let’s make those punishments harder.

“I knew I’d get asked about that and when I speak to you guys I don’t want to say what I really think about it. It is something that reflects really badly on football. It’s not Spurs’ problem, how can a game of football make someone speak like that?

“We’ve gone through the correct channels and we have had the police in to speak to him. It’s not right, it’s sad, the fact he says he is alright to deal with it shows how much of a problem it is.”

The Blades take on Newcastle on Sunday aiming for their first win of the season.

They were minutes away from winning at Tottenham last week, before succumbing to the latest ever Premier League comeback by the hosts, and have shown they can be competitive this season.

However, reports surfaced last week that the Blades have sounded out former boss Chris Wilder about a possible return to the club.

Heckingbottom laughed off questions about his future.

“You are asking the wrong person, you can ask me about a player, is he going to play, what’s he going to do,” he said.

“But you can’t ask me about me, you need to speak to other people about that.

“I have no reaction at all. The amount of things that get into the media that are rubbish, am I worried about it? No. Even if there is any truth in it, am I worried? No, because it is not going to affect me one little bit.

“You are asking the wrong person. You need to ask board level about that. I have spoken to Steve (Betts, chief executive), he says it is nonsense and just carry on. It is always there as a manager.”

Sheffield United have condemned racist abuse and threats aimed towards goalkeeper Wes Foderingham following the 2-1 Premier League defeat at Tottenham.

Foderingham,  who made a string of fine saves to deny Spurs before conceding two goals in added time, said in an Instagram post on Saturday night:  “I don’t mind opposition fans calling me every name under the sun. But be easy with the racism and family threats. Think before you type.”

The Blades responded on Sunday morning offering support for their keeper and promising to investigate.

A statement read: “Sheffield United condemn the racist, abusive and threatening messages that have been sent to Wes Foderingham after yesterday’s game against Spurs.

“The club will now work with relevant bodies to investigate and support Wes.

“There is no room for racism in our game.”

Tottenham also responded with a statement of their own offering to assist Sheffield United with their investigation and ban any Spurs fans found to be responsible for the abuse.

The Spurs statement read: “We are disgusted to hear of racist, abusive and threatening messages sent to Wes Foderingham following yesterday’s match.

“The Club stands firmly against all forms of discrimination and will cooperate fully with Sheffield United and the relevant bodies in their investigations.

“We shall not hesitate in taking the strongest possible action, including Club bans, against any so-called fan found responsible.”

Paul Heckingbottom’s side were 1-0 up heading into the closing stages at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium thanks to a Gus Hamer opener.

But late goals from Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski turned the game around and the Blades are still winless from their opening five fixtures.

Sheffield United have condemned racist abuse and threats aimed towards goalkeeper Wes Foderingham following the 2-1 Premier League defeat at Tottenham.

Foderingham,  who made a string of fine saves to deny Spurs before conceding two goals in added time, said in an Instagram post on Saturday night:  “I don’t mind opposition fans calling me every name under the sun. But be easy with the racism and family threats. Think before you type.”

The Blades responded on Sunday morning offering support for their keeper and promising to investigate.

A statement read: “Sheffield United condemn the racist, abusive and threatening messages that have been sent to Wes Foderingham after yesterday’s game against Spurs.

“The club will now work with relevant bodies to investigate and support Wes.

“There is no room for racism in our game.”

Paul Heckingbottom’s side were 1-0 up heading into the closing stages at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium thanks to a Gus Hamer opener.

But late goals from Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski turned the game around and the Blades are still winless from their opening five fixtures.

Tottenham match-winner Dejan Kulusevski credited the calmness of head coach Ange Postecoglou for inspiring their last-gasp 2-1 victory over Sheffield United on Saturday.

Spurs were heading for a first Premier League defeat under the Australian after Gustavo Hamer put the Blades ahead in the 73rd minute.

But the hosts kept their composure and levelled in the eighth minute of stoppage time through Richarlison before Kulusevski rifled home the winner two minutes later to spark jubilant celebrations.

It helped continue the feel-good factor around the club and Swedish attacker Kulusevski paid tribute to his boss following a fourth consecutive league success.

He told SpursPlay: “I was quite calm. In the end I just tried to stay calm, it’s just a game of football.

“When Richy scored, we knew we’re not going to lose and then I got the ball and did my thing. I know I just need to make one good thing to score and that’s what happened.

“We have got to stay calm. You see our coach Ange, he is on the side always being very calm so we have to do that as players.

“Stay calm, trust in each other and play like a family. We can improve a lot.

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“First half we wanted to score too much, we thought we would score a lot of goals, but we have got to stay calm always and wait for the game to come to us.”

Tottenham’s late show ensured Postecoglou kept his lengthy unbeaten home league record, which now stands at 50 matches across spells with Yokohama, Celtic and Spurs.

The 58-year-old has not tasted defeat in a league fixture on home turf in almost three years since Yokohama lost to Kashima in November, 2020.

Postecoglou said: “I do put a big emphasis on that wherever I’ve been because ultimately for your supporters, as much as you enjoy the away wins because you’ve got to earn every one of them, it’s when they come to their home ground that you want to really reward them.

“I’ve been very fortunate that at the last three clubs I’ve had, we’ve had even in Japan 30,000 to 40,000 and at Celtic they’re always sold out and it creates an atmosphere and you can see it helps the team.

“I think that helps you as a club if you’re really strong at home, so yeah it’s something I’m proud of.”

Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom was left to reflect on another near-miss after they suffered a third loss of the season due to late goals.

Forward Oli McBurnie was also sent off deep into stoppage-time for a second yellow card, which Heckingbottom insisted was handed out by referee Peter Bankes due to a simple query.

“A centre-back jumps into Wes (Foderingham), turns his back, leads with his elbow, Wes gets stitches and that’s deemed a yellow card,” Heckingbottom said.

“Oli McBurnie goes over to say he’s pulling my shirt – not swearing –  and he gets booked. Deemed the same offence. We’ve got a player missing now.

“(Officials) just do not know what they’re doing and it’s nothing to do with the results.

“Both sets of players are frustrated, both sets of fans are frustrated. Why? Because the people directing the game haven’t got a clue about football. They do not know football.”

Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom let rip into Premier League officiating after he watched his team concede twice in stoppage time to lose 2-1 at Tottenham.

The Blades were on course for a maiden win since their return to the Premier League after Gustavo Hamer fired them in front after 73 minutes in the capital.

A minimum of 12 minutes were added on at the end of the 90 and Spurs punished the newly-promoted side, with Richarlison levelling in the eighth added minute before Dejan Kulusevski grabbed a dramatic winner two minutes later.

There was still time for Oli McBurnie to receive his marching orders for a second yellow card and the United manager bemoaned the display of referee Peter Bankes following their latest last-gasp defeat.

“Something needs to be done now and this is not me moaning. I said it (at) half-time and when we were 1-0 up as well. The focus is on time-wasting, so the referees are dictating how we play,” Heckingbottom insisted.

“We set up from the back, then Spurs push forward and then that dictates how we play, but no, we’re just told to play long. You can’t do it.

“Wes (Foderingham) got a yellow card for handling outside the box and then got threatened with a sending-off (for time-wasting) you can’t do it.

“The officiating is appalling and it’s not about the football decisions. It’s just game management.

“My worry is all the focus is on yellow cards for time-wasting and when I talked to the referees, they haven’t got a clue what I’m talking about. They’re officiating the game, they simply do not know the game.

“We need to sort that and sort that quick. It’s ruining the spectacle and then to sum it all up we get Oli McBurnie sent off for telling the referee someone is pulling his shirt.

“We’ve just seen someone lead with an elbow into our goalkeeper who needs stitches and that’s the same offence. What’s going on? Seriously what’s going on with our game?”

It was a different story for Tottenham after a euphoric victory inspired by substitute Richarlison following a difficult week.

Richarlison had been pictured in tears after being substituted in Brazil’s 5-1 win over Bolivia and revealed in midweek that he would seek “psychological help” following a turbulent time in his personal life.

After scoring only once in the Premier League last season following his £60million switch from Everton last summer, Richarlison grabbed the leveller with a header from Ivan Perisic’s corner to set up a grandstand finish in N17.

Two minutes later and a slick team move ended with Richarlison teeing up Kulusevski, who fired through Jack Robinson’s legs to spark wild celebrations before Spurs captain Son Heung-min urged the Brazilian to soak up the applause at full-time.

“Richy was great,” Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou said.

“I thought all the subs who came on really helped, but that’s been a consistent theme.

“Yeah for Richy, I think it’s the point I was trying to make yesterday. For him to understand that you try and maintain a balance in life and his football hasn’t been that bad. He’s still been contributing for us.

“Sometimes when you struggle with certain parts of your life, you let it go into other areas, but the football is one area where he can control and he works hard every day in training and really got his rewards today.

“And hopefully that gives him a bit more of a settled feel to deal with the other areas in his life. For everyone, it’s about not letting it overwhelm you and hopefully a day like today helps him.”

Richarlison ended a difficult week by coming off the bench to score and inspire Tottenham to a dramatic 2-1 win over Sheffield United.

Spurs were heading for their first Premier League defeat under Ange Postecoglou after Gustavo Hamer put the newly-promoted side 1-0 up in the 73rd minute in north London.

Postecoglou turned to Richarlison and the £60million forward rewarded the faith of his head coach with a headed equaliser in the eighth minute of added time for only his second league goal since joining from Everton last summer.

There was still time for a grandstand finish and it arrived in the 10th minute of stoppage time when Richarlison set up Dejan Kulusevski to rifle home to make it four league wins in a row for Tottenham ahead of next weekend’s derby away to Arsenal.

It was a cruel ending for Sheffield United, who had Oli McBurnie sent off for a second yellow card before full-time and remain winless after five matches.

Tottenham were unchanged from their 5-2 victory at Burnley before the international break, which meant Richarlison was again restricted to a place on the bench after he revealed in midweek his desire to seek “psychological help” following a turbulent time on and off the pitch.

An excellent start to life under Postecoglou earned him manager of the month for August, but Spurs were provided an early warning by Sheffield United when McBurnie turned neatly in the area, only for his curled effort to hit strike partner Cameron Archer.

Eventually the hosts settled into their stride and Wes Foderingham saved well from Yves Bissouma’s left-footed effort in the 19th minute after a slick move.

Spurs captain Son Heung-min was next to test Foderingham with a curled strike before Guglielmo Vicario got down well to James McAtee’s low shot, which would have been ruled out anyway.

Postecoglou’s team continued to push for the opener and James Maddison called Foderingham into action before the Sheffield United goalkeeper required lengthy treatment for a muscle injury.

Foderingham was fine to carry on and penalty appeals had been waved away for the hosts by this point after Maddison went down under contact from Chris Basham.

The Blades goalkeeper was booked on the stroke of half-time for handling outside his area before boos greeted the end of the first 45 after only three minutes were added on despite several stoppages.

Foderingham was at the heart of the action at the beginning of the second period when he was caught by Micky van de Ven and needed a concussion check, but the ex-Rangers goalkeeper stayed on to lap up his role as pantomime villain.

Cristian Romero headed wide after fine work by Bissouma soon after, but frustration was starting to get the better of the hosts.

Play was twice halted by referee Peter Bankes after a second ball was thrown onto the pitch before Maddison and Manor Solomon were shown yellow cards in quick succession.

Solomon did fire over soon after and the Blades then provided Tottenham with a sucker-punch in the 73rd minute.

Jack Robinson’s long throw was not dealt with by Pape Sarr or Romero and it dropped for Sheffield United summer signing Hamer, who drilled in at the back post via the woodwork to delight the travelling faithful behind the goal.

Postecoglou reacted with a triple substitution as deadline day addition Brennan Johnson, Richarlison and Ivan Perisic were brought on, which lifted the hosts.

Perisic and Johnson both put the ball in the net not long after their introduction but the offside flag denied them and it was left to Richarlison to steal the show.

The Brazil number nine was pictured in tears last weekend following another blank in a 5-1 win over Bolivia for his nation but headed home Perisic’s corner deep into added time.

Better was to follow for Tottenham when a superb move involving Perisic and Richarlison saw the latter tee up Kulusevski, who fired through Robinson’s legs to spark wild celebrations as the feelgood factor at Spurs continues.

Ange Postecoglou has laughed off talk he is in the honeymoon period at Tottenham but promised they will continue to improve.

Spurs’ flying start to the new campaign earned their new head coach the Premier League manager of the month award for August on Friday.

The last Tottenham manager to receive the accolade was Nuno Espirito Santo at the start of the 2021-22 season but he was sacked months later in October.

When it was put to Postecoglou that he was still enjoying the honeymoon phase of life in north London, he was happy to point out some of the challenges he has faced in N17.

“I don’t know what your honeymoon was like, but mine didn’t have me losing the greatest player (Harry Kane) in the history of this football club on the eve of a transfer window, me trying to scramble to get players into the club, fighting for everything I do mate. That’s not what my honeymoon was about,” Postecoglou reflected.

“I don’t sit here and think this has come to me or been served on a platter. I’ve worked hard, mate, I’ve worked really hard. It’s been a really tough period, nothing like my honeymoon.

“At Celtic I lost three of our first six. At Yokohama, we were battling relegation, but I can tell you the same sort of building stuff I did at the those clubs, I’m doing here.

“The only difference is the results have been better, encouraging, for sure, but I love this period because there is pretty much a day-to-day uncertainty about where we’re at. That will be here for the next six months to a year.

“Everywhere I’ve been, the second year is where I’ve felt like the team has really taken hold, but I also understand at this football club I can’t go three, four, five months without results because I won’t last. That’s the reality of it.

“If you measure on outcomes, yes, this looks like this has been smoother than the others.

“But I can assure you this has been just as challenging, if not more challenging because of the stakes here in the Premier League.”

Postecoglou admitted it would take two more transfer windows for him to feel his playing group has the squad depth it needs, with Spurs only required to challenge in the Premier League until January.

He added: “I definitely think we need at least two more windows to get to a space where I think ‘okay, we (are happy) as a squad.’

“Don’t forget this year we’re out of the Carabao Cup now and we’ve got no European football, so the fixtures are a little bit kinder to us between now and Christmas, but that’s not our aim.

“We want to have games, we want to be in Europe, we want to be in cup competitions. So we’re going to need a stronger squad and I don’t think we’re anywhere near that point where we’ve got a robust enough squad at the moment.”

Ange Postecoglou has promised Tottenham will give Richarlison whatever help he needs after the forward revealed on international he would seek “psychological help” upon his return to club football.

Richarlison has endured a difficult year since he completed a £60million transfer to Spurs in the summer of 2022, scoring only once in the Premier League last season and he described his debut campaign as s*** in March.

The Brazil forward has not found the net for his country since the World Cup and was emotional following another blank on international duty during this past week with Richarlison speaking candidly in an interview with O Globo about a “turbulent time” for him off the pitch.

Ex-Everton striker Richarlison admitted he would “seek psychological help” on his return to England and while Postecoglou has vowed to give the 26-year-old the support he needs, the Australian also pointed out no one has a perfect life.

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s visit of Sheffield United, Postecoglou, who this week received the Premier League manager of the month award for August and was shortlisted for FIFA’s best men’s coach of 2023, said: “Whatever Richy needs, we’ll help him get to the space he wants to.

“From our perspective he’s put it out there because he was quite emotional after the game and we’ll give him the support he needs, but we do that with all players and I think most professional clubs do.

“What I will say is that no one has a perfect life. Sometimes we look at footballers and they do things well and we think they have all the money they need and that’s a perfect life, but that doesn’t make you immune from life itself.

“I’m sure that every player in our dressing room is dealing with something. I think sometimes players fall into the trap of thinking their lives should be perfect because of the position they’re in but that’s not how life works.

“Who in their life doesn’t have something that is stressful? I have lived 58 years now and there has never been a time in my life where everything is perfect.

“I lost my father three years ago and he should have been here for the journey, so I have got to deal with it. That is me talking personally but everybody in this room, there will be something.

“It could be a family member, a health issue, a financial issue because there is always something and footballers are not immune from that.”

Meanwhile, Postecoglou insisted nothing has changed regarding the situations of former captain Hugo Lloris and Eric Dier.

Both were expected to leave Spurs before the end of the summer transfer window after not being involved in the club’s opening fixtures to this season, but they remained and were listed in Tottenham’s 25-man Premier League squad on Wednesday.

“It was a fairly fluid situation. We weren’t really sure what was going to happen with Hugo. Eric was never out of the squad,” Postecoglou explained.

“I obviously had decisions to make around the 25-man squad. Obviously on the last day we had (Sergio) Reguilon moving to Man U, then (Tanguy) Ndombele and (Davinson) Sanchez out, so that’s three foreigners.

“If one of them had stayed it would have been a different decision, but once we got to the end of the window, we knew the numbers we had. Hugo and Eric were still with us so we had room to put them on the list.

“I haven’t felt the need to speak to them individually about anything. They are Tottenham players, they are available for selection and have been since the first day. Nothing has changed.”

Sean Dyche says Jordan Pickford answered his critics with a crucial double save in Everton’s 2-2 draw at Sheffield United.

Pickford recovered from scoring an unfortunate own goal earlier in the game to ensure his side left Bramall Lane with a point, miraculously denying Oli McBurnie twice at the death.

He tipped a header onto the underside of the crossbar and then recovered to turn the follow-up effort onto the post as Everton got their league season up and running after three successive defeats.

Pickford and his team-mates have come under the spotlight following their winless start to the season, but Dyche believes the England goalkeeper proved himself.

“Like everyone, he had some question marks recently because the team were conceding big moments,” Dyche said.

“Every player should be questioned because that’s the world we live in. Every top player gets questioned, that is part and parcel of being a top professional. It should be a stimulus if anything.

“But it shows again what a top keeper he is, I thought his all-round performance was very good.

“He was very unlucky with their second, quite obviously, and made two fantastic saves, when it is really important to do so. If that goes against you everyone is scratching their heads, but he made sure it doesn’t happen.

“The madness of football, we could have ended up losing it; Jordan makes those saves at the end and you think ‘how mad is football?’ – it would have been an injustice if it went against us but it didn’t.”

Abdoulaye Doucoure scored Everton’s first Premier League goal of the season as they went ahead early, but Cameron Archer’s first strike for the Blades levelled things up.

Archer was involved again soon after as his shot hit the post and rebounded off Pickford’s back and into the net as the Blades took a half-time lead, only for Arnaut Danjuma to level after the break.

Pickford then came up with his heroics and Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom knows his side need those moments to go in their favour this season.

“It’s an unreal save, the second one he doesn’t know too much, it hits his head and the post, but it’s a big moment,” Heckingbottom, who also saw his side earn their first point of the season, said.

“It’s another example of why we love the game and how fine the margins are.

“We are not stupid, we know that we are going to need a lot of those moments to go in our favour this season, of course we are. Today it didn’t.

“But I can’t grumble, I think it was a really good game and probably a fair result.”

Arnaut Danjuma’s second-half goal earned Everton a 2-2 draw at Sheffield United as both sides registered their first point of the Premier League season.

Cameron Archer’s first strike for the club and a Jordan Pickford own goal saw the Blades’ overturn Abdoulaye Doucoure’s early opener to lead 2-1 at half-time.

But Danjuma, a summer signing from Villarreal, levelled after the break and that is how it ended at Bramall Lane, thanks mainly to Pickford’s miraculous double save at the death, twice denying Oli McBurnie.

Having both lost their first three games of the campaign, this already had a big-game feel to it and while both sides will be pleased to be up and running, they might also see it as a missed opportunity to get their first win of the campaign.

Despite those early struggles, it was an entertaining match with chances at both ends.

John Egan put a free header straight at Everton goalkeeper Pickford before James Tarkowski produced a fine block to deny Archer.

The Toffees also looked a threat, with Beto’s shot from the edge of the area deflected just wide.

And it was from the resulting corner that they went ahead in the 14th minute, finally breaking their duck for the season.

Tarkowski climbed highest from the corner and the ball fell to Doucoure, whose first shot was parried by Wes Foderingham, but the midfielder was on hand to tap home the rebound from close range.

Everton had an excellent opportunity to immediately double their advantage as they had a four-on-two counter-attack, but Danjuma chose not to pass and his shot was blocked.

The Blades responded well and Pickford produced an excellent save to stop Gus Hamer’s low effort from sneaking in at the near post.

A deserved leveller came just after the half-hour as Archer scored his first goal for the club.

Hamer’s cross found McBurnie, who teed his strike partner up to arrow a shot into the corner from 12 yards.

They completed the turnaround deep into first-half injury time as Archer was again involved, with his 20-yard shot crashing off the post and on to Pickford’s back and into the net.

Everton’s response after the break was very good and they levelled 10 minutes after the restart.

The Toffees worked the ball down the right and Nathan Patterson sent in a devilish cross which Danjuma tapped in at the far post.

Again United came back and mounted a concerted spell of pressure as they searched to regain their lead.

Yasser Larouci skied a good chance at the back post before Luke Thomas fired an effort straight at Pickford’s body, with Hamer seeing the rebound blocked.

The Blades almost stole it at the death, but McBurnie’s free header was tipped onto the underside of crossbar by Pickford, with the goalkeeper then reacting to turn the striker’s second effort onto the post.

Sheffield United assistant manager Stuart McCall said he was bored watching his side’s Carabao Cup defeat to League One Lincoln.

The Premier League side suffered a 3-2 penalty shoot-out loss at Bramall Lane after a drab 90 minutes ended goalless.

Defeat continued a poor start to the season for the Blades, who have lost their opening three Premier League games.

They made nine changes for this match, but McCall said none of those players who came in pushed their case.

“A poor flat performance has given us a poor result, there’s no getting away from it,” he said.

“Credit to Lincoln, they made it difficult to play against, but we never moved the ball quick enough and got into areas we wanted to.

“If I’m being honest, we were bored ourselves watching it, we needed more impetus. We didn’t do enough to win the game. It seemed quite flat.

“We have to move on to a huge game on Saturday against Everton.

“There’s no excuses, the side we put out there should perform better. Take nothing away from Lincoln but we were pretty dull.

“We were desperate to win tonight and we put a team out that we believed we could do that.

“We were just boring really, we had no thrust. That is not what we want to be at Bramall Lane. Hugely disappointing throughout the night from start to finish. We can’t afford many of them.”

Lincoln were worthy of victory, which came after Lukas Jensen saved spot-kicks from Louis Marsh and Benie Traore to send his side through.

Boss Mark Kennedy was in philosophical mood after a first victory at Bramall Lane in 40 years.

“There’s only two things human beings fear when they’re born, that’s noise, and falling,” he said. “All the other fear some idiot puts in your head. There’s nothing to fear but fear itself.

“So go and embrace the moment, go and enjoy the day.

“And it’s nights like this that me personally and the players…live for. That’s what you get up for in the morning, win, lose or draw.

“You want to get your head out there, stick your chest out and sometimes you win and the rewards are incredible, the highs are high, the lows are so low, but for me that’s what you get up for, that’s what I come to work for every day.”

Lukas Jensen was the hero for League One Lincoln as they continued Sheffield United’s miserable start to the season with a 3-2 Carabao Cup penalty shootout victory at Bramall Lane.

After a drab 90 minutes ended goalless, the Imps goalkeeper saved spot-kicks from Louis Marsh and Benie Traore to send his side through.

This was not the performance or result that the Blades will have been looking for having lost their opening three Premier League games of the season and boss Paul Heckingbottom will have been presented with more questions than answers.

Mark Kennedy’s side will now dream of drawing one of the big boys in the next round after a deserved win.

It was no surprise that United did not fire as they fell in line with the majority of Premier League clubs by making wholesale changes to their side for the visit of the Imps.

And that had an inevitable effect on the game as the Blades were unable to play with any fluency and Lincoln more than held their own.

Reeco Hackett had a curling shot saved by Adam Davies, while the visitors also wasted several good moments on the counter-attack.

The Blades had to wait until the 51st minute to have a shot on target as Ollie Norwood sent debutant Cameron Archer through on goal, but the striker’s aim was off and he shot straight at Jensen.

Lincoln finally cut the Blades open on a transition after Daniel Mandroui’s incisive pass was perfect for Teddy Bishop, but he could only stab wide from close range.

Sheffield United looked the likeliest to force a late goal which would avoid the shootout lottery, but John Egan flashed a header wide and Auston Trusty could only plant his free header straight at Jensen.

That meant it would be decided from the spot and after Jensen had kept out poor Marsh and Traore efforts, the job was done when Egan skied the final penalty of the night.

Manchester City assistant Juanma Lillo says Erling Haaland’s mentality helps set him apart from most other goalscorers.

Haaland missed a first-half penalty and several other chances in Sunday’s 2-1 Premier League win at Sheffield United before finally breaking the hosts’ stubborn resistance at Bramall Lane.

The Norway striker headed City into a second-half lead and after substitute Jayden Bogle fired a late Blades equaliser, Rodri smashed home City’s winner to send them top of the table with three straight wins.

Lillo, who took on the head coach’s role as Pep Guardiola recovers from back surgery, said: “Today would have been difficult for any striker, how it played out in the first half.

“Of course there was the situation with the penalty, which is frustrating for anyone, but that could happen to any striker, not just Erling.

“What it does show is that, and not just because he scored, because he came close on a couple of other occasions as well, came really close with (another) header, that it really shows his mental fortitude to keep going and keep going.

“That’s something that’s really difficult to find and he showed it throughout.

“He’s a very young lad and his mindset is so good that, OK he’s missed a penalty, but he’s come back now and he wants to keep going and keep trying to score these goals.”

The Blades’ central back three of captain John Egan, Jack Robinson and Anel Ahmedhodzic were key to their side’s disciplined rearguard action, which stifled Haaland for large parts of the game.

Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom, who could not hide his disappointment at failing to hold on for a point, said: “I’m not going to tell you the plan because we may do it again next time.

“The central defenders enjoyed that challenge. Haaland enjoyed that challenge and got really wound up.

“He was really pleased with his goal obviously. He’s a big, big threat.”

The Blades introduced latest signing Cameron Archer to the Bramall Lane faithful before kick-off and Heckingbottom expects more transfer activity between now and midnight on Friday when the window closes.

“We’ve lost players but that’s changed our resources, so we’re doing as much as we possibly can to come out of the window in the best possible shape,” he added.

“I’ve been pleased with the signings and pleased with them as characters, as people and buying into what we’re about.

“You can see in the performance. The reason I’m so disappointed about not having a point is for the players and the fans.

“You could see the reaction, everyone’s together on it, everyone knows what we’re trying to do.

“That’s the reason I’m really upset about the point. How crucial it will be at the end of the season, who knows?”