Given how Sheffield United fell at this stage of last year’s FA Cup at the hands of non-league opposition, you always felt this would be an afternoon littered with nervy moments for Chris Wilder’s side against a team 104 places below them on the league ladder. Wilder’s promise that he would make wholesale changes for the game only further emphasised that feeling, and in the end, the Blades were certainly grateful for the final whistle.
This was clearly an afternoon Wilder had eyed as an opportunity to see which of his fringe players could stake a claim for a place in his first team for the second half of the season, underlined by the fact he made 11 changes for this tie against the competition’s lowest-ranked side.
Goals from two of those replacements, Callum Robinson and Leon Clarke, were just about enough to see off a valiant AFC Fylde and ensure a safe passage through to the fourth round, but on an afternoon featuring Jack Rodwell’s return to competitive football and Ravel Morrison’s third competitive start for the club, what did Wilder learn about his squad depth?
“There were boys knocking at the door and some good individual performances,” Wilder said, before admitting to a sense of relief after avoiding a repeat of last year’s shock defeat to Barnet. “We didn’t deserve to win that game last year and I didn’t like that. I wanted people to make sure we were making so many changes off the back of the Christmas period, but there are certain individuals that are pushing.”
Robinson’s goal, a well-taken finish past Sam Hornby after eight minutes, suggested a fairly straightforward afternoon’s work for the hosts. But Fylde, appearing in the third round for the first time, looked anything but a side fighting for their lives at the bottom of the National League. Had one or two of the game’s crucial moments gone their way, this tie could have easily gone to a replay at the very least.
“I’m mighty proud of everyone associated with the club,” Jim Bentley, Fylde’s manager, said. “On another day we could have got something, and we were playing against fantastic opposition. This will be great exposure for us, getting this far and running a good Premier League club close.”
Fylde, much to their credit, did not appear rattled after Robinson’s early goal. Were it not for a perfectly timed tackle from Mo Besic to deny Nick Haughton, Fylde could have been level at half-time. Alex Whitmore then had a glorious chance shortly after the restart, sending his free header wide of the post. The Premier League side made their non-league opposition pay when Clarke fired home after Luke Freeman had struck the post.
Two minutes earlier, Rodwell’s assured debut – in a back three with Phil Jagielka and Kean Bryan – had come to a satisfactory conclusion, in his first competitive appearance since April. “I thought you saw his undoubted quality,” Wilder said. “He’s been in and he wants to learn, he’s always asking questions – and that’s refreshing for someone who’s played at the highest level and wants to get back there.”
But even after Clarke’s goal seemingly killed the tie on the hour mark, Fylde continued to battle. With 12 minutes remaining, Jordan Williams’s magnificent chip beat Dean Henderson and brought them back into the tie. They almost forced a replay when Williams had another shot deflected wide, and with a supporter taking up the role of fourth official at half-time after the linesman Peter Kirkup fell ill, Fylde had almost managed to steal all the headlines by full-time.
