Ipswich Town 0 Sheffield United 3: Blades head into summer on high thanks to superb Yeates

He scored one goal and created the other two as the visitors eased to their biggest away win of the season and first at Portman Road since 1975.

The Irishman scored the first after squeezing between two home players. He unleashed a powerful shot from just outside the box that beat Brian Murphy at his near post, possibly taking a slight deflection off Gareth McAuley.

Yeates, brimming with confidence, went on to cause more problems after the break.

First, just before the hour, he swept a low cross in from the left that was clinically smashed home by Ched Evans.

Then, seven minutes later, Yeates's angled drive was blocked by Murphy, only for Richard Cresswell to head in the rebound via the underside of the bar.

"We always feel we're a club that should be going for promotion but at the end of last season we found ourselves with 15 players out of contract," said Blades manager Kevin Blackwell, reflecting on a difficult season at Bramall Lane.

"It left us with a big hole to fill and we'd already missed six weeks of the transfer window. We've been trying to catch up ever since.

"We couldn't get the type of player we were looking for and we had to rely on loans.

"That leads to instability and a lack of consistency but to finish eighth is still a terrific achievement for the players.

"It'll be good to get a solid squad together and start again from scratch.

"We've had a colossal number of injuries and 24 debuts.

"That's completely different to having a squad of players you know and when situations are controlling you, rather than you controlling them, it makes it very hard."

United's record signing Evans had gone 25 games without a goal, his previous strike coming back in October, while Cresswell finished the campaign with four goals in his last five matches.

Defeat for Ipswich, who finished 15th, was only their fourth at Portman Road in the Championship this season. They had

18-year-old defender Tom Eastman sent off on his debut to compound their woes.

Ipswich Town: Brian Murphy, Eastman, McAuley, Smith (O'Connor 57), Peters, Norris (Clark 57), Leadbitter, Garvan, Colback (Brown 62), Wickham, Walters. Unused substitutes: Lee-Barrett, Martin, Edwards, Hyam.

Sheffield United: Kenny, Bartley, Morgan, Nosworthy (Little 85), Naysmith, Lowton, Montgomery, Harper, Yeates, Evans, Cresswell. Unused substitutes: Aksalu, Seip, Geary, Fortune, Foster, James.

Referee: Andy D'Urso (Essex).