Sheffield United's Late Lapse Costs Them Against Wolves

Sheffield United were punished for a late lapse in concentration as Raul Jimenez struck a 90th-minute winner to give Wolverhampton Wanderers a 1-0 victory at Bramall Lane.

The defeat leaves the Blades 14th in the early Championship standings, five points adrift of the automatic promotion places, and nursing the feeling that they handed the game away in its final act.

The decisive moment came right at the death. Tommy Doyle scuffed a shot inside the area, the mishit effort turning into an inadvertent assist. Jimenez reacted first, alive to the loose ball, and from close range steered it beyond Michael Cooper to silence the home crowd.

In the 90th minute, ultimately, we've switched off and let them in.

The goalkeeper told BBC Radio Yorkshire, his frustration evident. "Really disappointed with that. We know how disappointed the fans will be going home.

It's a bit of a sucker punch. Credit to the lads, obviously, the effort was there for 90 minutes but just that split-second against a team like that, as a unit, we can't switch off the way we did. Bitterly disappointing."

Sheffield United had matched Wolves for long spells, working off the ball and staying organised, but lacked the ruthlessness that Jimenez showed in the only clear opening that truly mattered.

Cooper insisted the work behind the scenes is not the issue.

Everyone's training so hard. The amount of info we're getting from staff is phenomenal. There's no complaints from anyone. It's just about putting the practice into games.

For a side with promotion ambitions, that final sentence now hangs over Sheffield United’s season: can they turn all that preparation into points before late lapses like this one define their campaign?