It was another tremendous night under the lights at Bramall Lane last night as Sheffield United saw off Tottenham in the FA Cup 5th Round.
A goal from Iliman Ndiaye in the final third of the game ensured the Blades set up a quarter-final clash with Blackburn Rovers in a few weeks’ time. It hands United a golden chance of a trip to Wembley, with promotion also still very much on the cards.
The Blades’ performance was a classic FA Cup performance from the lower ranked side. While there was some good football on display, dogged and determined defending underlined the evening’s efforts in the main.
And nothing summed those efforts up more than a crunching Chris Basham tackle in the first half. With Spurs threating to break with one of their trademark counter-attacks, the Blades legend sent both ball and man flying.
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It was a moment that impressed the onlooking Martin Keown, who praised Basham on BBC co-commentary.
“He honed in on it as well. He could see what they were up to there as well, Spurs trying to counter attack. It’s a really clever tackle,” Keown said.
Of course, Keown knows a thing or two about defending. A legend of Arsenal throughout the 90s and early 2000s, Keown loved some of the challenges from United all night long.
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While in a settled and first-choice XI, Basham is behind Anel Ahmedhodzic, there is no doubting what he brings to this United side.
He’s a big player both on and off the field and in games like last night, he seems to go up through the gears. Basham relishes being challenged by the best players, and he looked like the player we had in the Premier League last night.
Basham’s challenge summed United up in general. He provided a moment in the final third in the second-half as well that Blades fans loved, as he slalomed his way up the field before losing the ball and eventually recovering it in true Chris Basham Style.
On a night of big performances, the dependable Basham once again showed his worth. And in doing so, continued to surprise everyone with his continued excellence.
