Sheffield United 3-2 Blackburn Rovers (Gallagher og 28′, McBurnie 81′, Doyle 90’+1 | Brereton pen 21′, Szmodics 60′)
Tommy Doyle scored a stunning 91st minute goal to settle an absorbing FA Cup tie and take Sheffield United through to a Wembley semi-final.
Not one but both of the on-loan Manchester City midfield’s grandfathers, Mike Doyle and Glyn Pardoe, won the trophy with the club in 1969.
And Doyle’s winner, after the Blades twice came from behind against their Championship rivals, kept alive his loan team’s hopes of winning the cup for the first time in 98 years.
Doyle’s goal came from a magnificent 25-yard strike, seconds after 90 minutes had expired, although Blackburn manager Jon Dahl Tomasson was displeased that it was allowed.
A ridiculous finish.
— Sheffield United (@SheffieldUnited) March 19, 2023
Tommy Doyle with apic.twitter.com/eFz1SvO0OK
His midfielder Tyler Morton was struck accidentally around the head and was out of position when Doyle stuck the winner, with Tomasson claiming play should have been stopped.
“That is the rule, I said to the referee after the match, when you have a head injury, he should have stopped the game, I think he knows it,” said Tomasson.
“It was big moment in the match and if something really dangerous had happened, it could have had serious consequences for the player.”
The Doyle winner capped a superb comeback – two, in fact – with the Blades twice trailing and equalising for a second time, with just 10 minutes left.
The second goal came from Oli McBurnie, who received a pass from Max Lowe, and darted around three defenders before scoring into the bottom corner.
On the hour, Blackburn’s Sammie Szmodics thought he had won the tie for Rovers, and booked their first ever trip to the new Wembley, as he chased Sam Gallagher’s through ball and finished well.
But Ryan Hedges hit the post, missing a chance to make it 3-1, and the momentum of a thrilling tie shifted.
“It’s a special day for me and my family,” Doyle said. “I want to create my own history in football and I’m currently in the process of that which is exciting.
“But I’ve still got a long way to go to achieve what they achieved in the game. It’s unbelievable.”
Both sides scored in a relentless first half, with Blackburn’s opener the subject of a controversial VAR decision as Jack Robinson was judged to have handled Gallagher’s shot and Ben Brereton Diaz converted the penalty.
That lead stood for just seven minutes, until Lowe unloaded a long-range strike on 28 minutes which deflected off Gallagher and levelled the tie for the Blades.
“It was do or die,” winning manager Paul Heckingbottom said. “We have a lot of players in our squad who have never even been to Wembley, let alone played there, so it’s a big moment.”
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