Chris Wilder disappointed Sheffield United did not see more fringe benefits from FA Cup defeat

With fewer than 7,000 in Bramall Lane for a game moved to a 7pm kick-off on a Thursday for the benefit of BBC Wales, the blue riband phase of the world's most famous cup competition got off to a low-key start as two under-strength Championship sides went head to head.

Cardiff City won 1-0.

With injuries hitting his squad hard and having admitted that recently a number of players have played when the club's sports science department would have preferred they had not, Wilder named a much-changed side.

Having been relegated from the Premier League last season, winning promotion back this year is the overriding priority and, a point behind Championship leaders Leeds United after 26 matches, they are well placed to do it.

That said, Wilder was disappointed some of his more senior fringe players did not make a stronger case to play more often.

"I had to (make changes)," he insisted. "I'm not trying to deflect anything.

"I'm a bit disappointed that some of the younger players didn't take the opportunity, a couple did.

"I thought (Alex) Baptiste and (Billy) Blacker were good. I thought a couple of senior players didn't take the opportunity to stick it on me as much as they could have done, through their performances.

"The goal was a poor goal and some of the decisions were disjointed. One resulted in the goal.

"Ball speed, not playing with the positivity they should have done and I'd sum it up by saying their fringe players were better than our fringe players and their youngsters were better than ours on the whole. And that was the game."

Wilder hit out at the scheduling of the game, and says the return of Champiionship football, with the visit of Norwich City a week on Saturday, when he expects to have a number of injured players back fit, will be an altogether bigger occasion.

"Playing on a Thursday was sad," he said. "It didn't feel like an FA Cup third-round game that we've all been involved in. But I'd like to think people will cut us a little bit of slack from a selection point of view in terms of the decisions we made.

"I could have gambled but the gamble doesn't come off and we lose those players, then we're possibly in a worse situation. If people want to chuck stones at me for that, then I get it. But the last 20 games are all that matter now.

"We've put ourselves in a fabulous position, we've won more points than anyone else (they had two deducted) and we're getting players back – not to play 95 minutes, so we're going to have to integrate them and monitor them.

"But hopefully the feeling going into the next game will be absolutely completely differently to the feeling on Thursday.

"I could quite easily have put (Gustavo) Hamer and (Callum) O'Hare and Anel (Ahmedhodzic) on. That risk is not one worth taking.

"Nine out injured and if I don't get the players back we're expecting back, and the players we're trying to get in for Norwich, where does that leave me? It potentially leaves me in a worse position than we were in at Watford, and we know how hard that was.

"Our priority, unfortunately, is the Championship. It's a bit sad, in a way, the way it's going. But with nine out and risks to certain players it was needs must. "