26th January
Reading 4 Sheffield United 0 ( Attendance: 14,715)
Blades Line-up : Long, Westlake (Collins 76), McMahon, Higginbotham, Maguire, Doyle, McDonald (Whitehouse 69), Blackman, Porter (Flynn 60), Kitson, Murphy.
Unused: Coyne, Ironside, Cresswell, De Girolamo.
Man Of The Match: Jamie Murphy.
Reading: Federici, Shorey, Karacan, Mariappa, Leigertwood (Guthrie 84), Le Fondre, Hunt, McCleary, Morrison, Robson-Kanu, Kelly.
Unused : Pearce, McAnuff, Kebe, Church, Cummings, Taylor.
Referee: Chris Foy (Lancashire).
Noel Hunt scored twice as Reading cruised through to the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 4-0 victory over Sheffield United at the Madejski Stadium.
The Premier League side took just six minutes to break the deadlock with Hunt heading home at the near post following Hal Robson-Kanu's ball in from the left and they doubled their advantage through Mikele Leigertwood in the 40th minute.Republic of Ireland international Hunt extended their advantage over the Blades early in the second period with a scruffy finish, before Garath McCleary completed the rout in the 54th minute, cutting inside and curling a shot into the far corner of the net.
The opening goal came early on as Robson-Kanu found space on the left flank and whipped in a curling cross which Hunt headed in from eight yards. Adam Le Fondre burst past three players but goalkeeper George Long came to gather before Hunt could add a second.
United started to briefly come back into the match. Nick Blackman went past his marker and fired a low ball across a packed penalty box, but Adrian Mariappa turned the ball behind.
Reading boss Brian McDermott remained on the edge of his technical area, clearly worried his team had lost the initiative. United's Chris Porter flicked a header just wide of Adam Federici's goal just after the half hour and the Australian did well to save Jamie Murphy's low drive moments later.
Any hopes United had of levelling before the break were dashed in the 40th minute when McCleary found Leigertwood lurking 25 yards out and he unleashed a powerful drive which Long had no chance of stopping.
Reading continued to dominate after the break. Nicky Shorey split the Blades defence with a well-weighted pass, but Long came out to smother before Hunt could shoot.
The seemingly inevitable third goal for the Royals came moments later when McCleary cut in from the right and squared to Hunt, whose scuffed shot dribbled past the wrong-footed Long. And after 54 minutes, a great bit of skill from McCleary. The former Nottingham Forest man picked up Le Fondre's pass, and embarrassed his marker with a slalom run into the box before beating Long at his far post.
United almost pulled back a consolation goal on the hour through Kevin McDonald, who saw his drilled shot tipped wide by Federici. The Australian was beaten moments later but, luckily for the hosts, Stephen Kelly was on hand to clear
Blackman's shot off the line. Late one, Ryan Flynn missed a glorious chance to pull one back when he somehow put a free header wide from eight yards following a cross from Blackman.
Blades Player Performance Ratings v. Reading: Long 6 , Westlake 6 , Collins 6 , McMahon 6 , Higginbotham 6 , Maguire 6 , Doyle 6 , McDonald 6 , Whitehouse 6 , Blackman 6 , Porter 6 , Flynn 6 , Kitson 7 , Murphy 7 .
19th January
Notts County 1 Sheffield United 1 ( Attendance: 7,061)
Blades Line-up : Long, Westlake, McMahon, Higginbotham, Maguire, Doyle, Blackman, McDonald, Flynn, Kitson (Ironside 61), Murphy,
Unused : Coyne, Cresswell, McFadzean, Whitehouse, Kennedy, De Girolamo.
Man Of The Match: Danny Higginbotham.
Notts County: Bialkowski, Sheehan, Leacock, Liddle, Campbell-Ryce, Boucaud, Bishop, J. Hughes, Judge, Arquin (Bencherif 89), Zoko.
Unused: Spiess, Smith, Kelly, Mahon, Labadie, Nangle.
Sent-Off: Zoko 25.
Referee: Mark Haywood (West Yorkshire).
An Alan Judge header gave 10-man Notts County a point as they held Sheffield United 1-1 at a frozen Meadow Lane.
An army of volunteers worked through the morning to clear snow from the pitch to get the game on but it seemed they would regret that decision after a sluggish start by the hosts.
The Blades opened the scoring after just over a minute when Nick Blackman's inswinging corner was headed home by a towering Harry Maguire.
Jeff Hughes had a good chance to level for County on 11 minutes after poor defending from the Blades but he scooped his shot over.
The home side had a mountain to climb after 24 minutes when Francois Zoko was sent off, first receiving a booking from referee Mark Haywood for protesting a free-kick before seeing red as he continued his outburst.
However, Danny Wilsons' men never really pressed home their advantage and after 80 minutes disaster struck when Judge glanced home an Alan Sheehan free-kick to deny United the three points.
Blades Player Performance Ratings v. Notts County: Long 6 , Westlake 7 , McMahon 7 , Higginbotham 7 , Maguire 7 , Doyle 6 , Blackman 6 , McDonald 6 , Flynn 6 , Kitson 7 , Ironside 6 , Murphy 6 .
12th January
2013 Sheffield United 0 Yeovil Town 2 ( Attendance: 20,454)
Blades Line-up : Long, Higginbotham, Maguire, McMahon, Williams (Philliskirk 89), Flynn (Ironside 62), Doyle, McDonald, Blackman, Kitson (Cresswell 74), Murphy.
Unused: Coyne, Westlake, Barry, Whitehouse.
Man Of The Match: Danny Higginbotham.
Yeovil: Stech, Ayling, McAllister, Webster, Burn, Upson, Foley, Dolan (Blizzard 80), Dawson, Hayter, Madden.
Unused: Stewart,Hinds, Ralph, Williams, Reid.
Referee: David Phillips (Sussex).
Two second-half goals from Paddy Madden gave Yeovil a 2-0 victory at high-flying Sheffield United. Glovers' striker Madden had a great chance to score early on when Harry's Maguire's weak header back left goalkeeper George Long exposed but he fired wide of the target. Madden put another effort off-target and Long was forced to turn a James Hayter shot over the bar. United's best effort before the break came from Tony McMahon who sent a free-kick wide.Madden opened the scoring in the 49th minute, creating space for himself inside the area before firing low past Long after receiving the ball from Byron Webster. After McMahon put a long-range shot just over, Madden increased Yeovil's lead midway through the half following an error from Long. The Blades keeper hesitated on the ball and he was caught in possession by the alert Madden who was left with the simple task of walking the ball into the net. The goal was met with all types of derision from the United supporters not happy with the poor showing. Nick Blackman had a shot saved by Marek Stech as the Blades tried to pull a goal back but United have now suffered back-to-back home defeats
Blades Player Performance Ratings v. Yeovil: Long 5 , Higginbotham 6 , Maguire 5 , McMahon 6 , Williams 5 , Flynn 6 , Ironside 6 , Doyle 5 , McDonald 5 , Blackman 6 , Kitson 6 , Cresswell 6 , Murphy 6 .
5th January
2013 Oxford United 0 Sheffield United 2 ( Attendance: 7,079)
Blades Line-up : Long, McMahon, Hill (Williams 12), Higginbotham, Maguire, Doyle, McDonald, Flynn, Blackman, Kitson (Ironside 76), Murphy (Cresswell 89).
Unused: Coyne, Tonne, Whitehouse, Kennedy.
Man Of The Match: Kevin McDonald.
Oxford: Clarke, Batt, Duberry, Wright, Heslop, Potter, Capaldi, Richards, Leven, O'Brien (Rigg 67), Craddock.
Unused : Brown, Raynes, Worley, Parker, Marsh, O'Dowda.
Referee: Carl Boyeson (East Yorkshire).
Sheffield United knocked Oxford out of the FA Cup for the second year running with a 3-0 win at the Kassam Stadium. A beautifully flighted 20-yard free kick over Oxford's defensive wall by Tony McMahon in the 17th minute put the Blades ahead. Dave Kitson's close-range effort on 68 minutes, after Nick Blackman headed back Ryan Flynn's deep free kick, confirmed their superiority. And Blackman's turn and shot into the roof of the net three minutes from time sealed an emphatic victory. Oxford felt the free kick awarded against Jake Wright, for the first goal, was a harsh decision by the referee. Tom Craddock forced Blades goalkeeper George Long into a strong save from his angled drive and loan-signing Justin Richards scooped a shot narrowly wide at the start of the second half. But th Blades carried greater menace up front, and Blackman almost hit a third with a 20-yard effort that deflected just past the far post. Oxford keeper Ryan Clarke also made a superb double save from Blackman and Jamie Murphy. The hosts almost pulled one back through substitute Sean Rigg but his angled drive was superbly turned aside by Long.
Blades Player Performance Ratings v. Oxford: Long 6 , McMahon 7 , Hill 6 , Williams 6 , Higginbotham 8 , Maguire 6 , Doyle 6 , McDonald 8 , Flynn 7 , Blackman 6 , Kitson 7 , Ironside 7 , Murphy 8 .
1st January
2013 Doncaster Rovers 2 Sheffield United 2 ( Attendance: 12,785)
Blades Line-up : Long, Higginbotham, Hill, Flynn (Ironside 74), Doyle, Blackman, McDonald, Kitson, Whitehouse (Cofie 53), McMahon, Kennedy.
Unused : Westlake, McAllister, Cresswell, Williams. Coyne.
Man Of The Match: Dave Kitson.
Doncaster Line-up: Woods, Quinn (Griffin 64), Spurr, McCombe, Jones, Keegan, Syers, Cotterill, Bennett (Coppinger 76), Paytner, Hume (Martis 83).
Unused: Maxted, Husband, Ball, Harper.
Sent-Off: Paynter 87.
Referee: David Coote (Nottinghamshire).
A late goal from Dave Kitson gave Sheffield United a valuable point in this promotion tussle at the Keepmoat Stadium. The Blades had a fantastic backing of 4,285 travelling fans and looked threatening at the start and home goalkeeper Gary Woods did well to save an 11th-minute free-kick from defender Tony McMahon before Doncaster took charge. Rovers striker Billy Paynter gave them the lead from the penalty spot in the 18th minute when he slammed the ball home after Blades goalkeeper George Long had brought down David Syers. The game was one-sided for long periods after that with Doncaster defenders Jamie McCombe and Rob Jones going close before striker Iain Hume hit the post early in the second half. Syers made it 2-0 for Rovers in the 63rd minute with a close-range header from winger David Cotterill's free-kick on the left. The Blades had been disappointing until then, but Nick Blackman gave a lifeline when he scored from the penalty spot in the 80th minute after Andy Griffin had brought down Joe Ironside. Rovers finished with 10 men after Paynter was sent off for a foul on McMahon off the ball in the 87th minute and United cashed in with a last-gasp equaliser when Kitson fired home in a crowded penalty box after Blades defender Matthew Hill had hit the post.
Blades Player Performance Ratings v. Doncaster: Long 7 , Higginbotham 7 , Hill 7 , Flynn 6 , Ironside 7 , Doyle 6 , Blackman 7 , McDonald 6 , Kitson 7 , Whitehouse 6 . Cofie 6 , McMahon 6 , Kennedy 6 .