Sheffield United took more enjoyment from the opening night of the new Championship season than the entirety of their brief and bruising return to the Premier League. It was November before the Blades tasted victory last season but they were immediately off the mark at Preston, where Oliver Arblaster’s first goal for the club and an audacious finish from Gustavo Hamer gave Chris Wilder’s team a richly deserved win.
It was a hugely encouraging start by a United team who had numerous excuses for opening the campaign nursing a hangover. They could have cited the demoralising effect of finishing bottom of the Premier League last season with 16 points, a draining takeover saga with no end in sight, the loss of several senior players, plus a two-point deduction for defaulting on payments in 2022-23. That came into effect following their return to the EFL. But, much to Wilder’s satisfaction and credit, the visitors showed no signs of self-pity.
