Sheff Utd 'mastered the game plan' in play-off first-leg win, says Burrows

Harrison Burrows believes Sheffield United "mastered the gameplan" in their comfortable 3-0 win in the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final against Bristol City

Burrows opened the scoring at Ashton Gate from the penalty spot after Rob Dickie hauled down Kieffer Moore, with the Robins defender sent off in first-half stoppage time.

Joe Williams' stunning effort had come close to opening the scoring for Liam Manning's side early in the first half, but Dickie's dismissal was a turning point in the contest.

The Blades doubled their lead in the 73rd minute when Burrows' cross into the box was brilliantly dummied by Callum O'Hare, allowing Andre Brooks to sweep home. 

O'Hare then ensured the Blades would take a three-goal lead back to Bramall Lane late on, flicking the ball beyond Max O'Leary inside the six-yard box to seal an emphatic win. 

"We're really happy with that but it's only the first leg and the job's not done yet," Burrows told Sky Sports. 

"We mastered the game plan the gaffer came up with and it was spot on. I'm always confident with penalties and always know where I'm putting them.

"We've got to treat the second leg like it's 0-0 and go from there."

O'Hare was brought into the action by Chris Wilder in the 67th minute, netting his goal 12 minutes after being introduced at Ashton Gate. 

His expected goals (xG) total of 0.48 was a total only bettered by Burrows (0.79), with the 27-year-old revealing the instructions given to him by his manager. 

"I just had to carry on what the boys had started - we knew they had 10 men so we could put some pressure on them and try to score some goals," O'Hare added. 

"We needed a bit of a kick and didn't make enough chances with having the extra man and we wanted a good lead to take into the second leg.

"The boys know what we've got in the changing room - we missed out on automatic promotion with two teams getting 100 points and we're gutted but we've put that to one side."

The Blades return to Bramall Lane for the second leg on May 12, with the Robins hoping to complete a remarkable turnaround at a ground they have failed to win at since 2019.