'A joy to walk out of Bramall Lane with a smile on my face again'

Ben Meakin, BladesPod

Six months after we beat Birmingham City in the final game of the 2022-23 season, we are once again able to celebrate a win – and what a feeling it is.

It says a lot for the intimidating strength of this year’s Premier League (and our slow summer business) that I had only seen three games out of our first 11 I thought we could realistically win.

Jordan Pickford’s miracle save stopped Everton from being the one where we broke our duck, then we were wretched at Fulham – but finally, in November, we can toast three points.

Bigger than quadrupling our points total for the season though, is the swell of pride - and yes, relief - that comes with it. No longer are we the only winless team in the entire Football League. And the last time we were at this level, we had to wait until January to get that first victory.

It was a joy to walk out of Bramall Lane with a smile on my face again. It’s a game no-one outside of S2 will remember, and it might not make a smidge of difference to our final league placing, but right now that full-time feeling is everything.

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