After falling to the worst start possible, non-league Wrexham fought back and ended up holding Sheffield United of the Championship to a 3-3 draw at the Racecourse after conceding in the final minute. 

Wrexham got off to the nightmare start when Oli McBurnie powered home a fierce header past Mark Howard to give the Blades the lead, but the Reds probed and a much improved second period brought some goals to cheer about round the Racecourse for the hosts. 

Ben Tozer long throw finally payed dividends as many had went astray - Jamie Jones met the loose ball and scooped home the equaliser. 

Ten minutes later, the hosts netted a goal which was deserved on the balance of play as Wrexham laid siege on the Sheffield United goal and from another loose ball, Tom O’Connor smashed home to sent the Racecourse into raptures. 

The Championship outfit hit back almost instantly, as Oliver Norwood stroked home the equaliser. After seeing his first effort blocked by Max Cleworth, the Blades midfielder found the ball kindly back at his feet as he tapped home past the despairing Ben Tozer and the wrong-footed goalkeeper, Mark Howard.

After running the Blades back line ragged for the majority of the game, Wrexham top scorer Paul Mullin notched up a deserved goal, and a goal which he and many more thought was the winning strike. Mullin raced half the length of the pitch before slipping in Sam Dalby, who played back in the prolific goal scorer who took time to get the ball into his feet before slotting home.

With virtually the final kick of the tie, John Egan came up trumps to salvage Sheffield United a replay at Bramall Lane. After holding off his man from an in-swinging corner, Egan volleyed past Howard and despite the disappointment of conceding so late on, Wrexham have a lot to be proud of after holding a Championship, bound to be Premier League, side.

  • Higher up opposition are no problem for Wrexham

Historically and in the two games with Championship sides, Wrexham have showed that they have nothing to fear and everything to play for. 

In the last round, a professional display saw the Reds defeat Coventry City 4-3, and today holding a Premier League bound side to a draw shows Wrexham are more than well a match to the top sides. 

Despite having to tweak things with two important players in Aaron Hayden and Jordan Tunnicliffe being brought off injured, the substitutes Jamie Jones, who pushed on into midfield as Tom O’Connor seemed to drop back into a defensive position, and Max Cleworth more than stepped up to the plate and Wrexham have shown they have nothing to fear when playing sides who are higher up in the pyramid than them. 

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Despite the result looking poor and on paper a game the Blades should win, they showed some qualities throughout the contest a Premier League outfit would possess. 

Sheffield United played out a satisfactory first half in how they stood up to the expected pressure of the non-league side, who were desperate to cause an upset. The Blades were defensively astute and took a very early lead when McBurnie fired home and they held onto the lead.

The visitors were undone by set-pieces, as the ceaseless threat of Ben Tozer’s long throw-in’s were unable to be dealt with and failing to clear loose balls, which was not what they had done in the opening period and something else that was concerning for Sheffield United was cheap free-kick’s that were conceded. 

To comeback and strike final blood in the 90th-minute despite being heavily under pressure shows the character in camp and this infers why they seem destined for the Premier League.

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A very professional display by the Scouser showed why he should be playing in the Football League.

Mullin constantly had the Blades on the ropes and ran them to the ground. There was certain times in the game where Sheffield United men were dived into tactical fouls to deny the clinical goal scorer from being sent clean through, with some suggesting a red card could have been brandished after Mullin was scythed down for a free-kick towards the end of the first half. 

In addition, his goal record speaks for himself, with todays strike taking him up to 28 goals in all competitions and his fifth consecutive goal. He continues his fine record in this competition this season, netting in every round so far. 

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  • A display similar could see Wrexham topple the Blades 

Although Sheffield United have the Champinship’s second best home form, Wrexham showed today and against Coventry that anything is possible. 

Going to a Championship side, who are on form, and beating them in their own back yard is no stranger to Wrexham, as we seen them repeat a similar feet in the round previous against Coventry, and to go to Bramall Lane is no doubt a daunting task, but one that Wrexham could do with flying colours. 

An inspiration to Wrexham about going to the home of Sheffield United as a non-league side and beating them is their National League counterparts, Barnet. A Shaq Coulthirst spot-kick succumbed the Blades to defeat against the Bees. In this season, Sheffield United were also promoted to the Premier League, and as runners up. 

The belief of the Reds has been refreshing to the fan base, seeing them 90 minutes away from the FA Cup Fifth Round and the heights of the summit in the National League, and a performance symmetrical to today in the replay and Wrexham could cause one of the competitions biggest shocks to reach the next stage. 

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