Sheffield United 0 Barnsley 1: Reds stay focused as Winnall sinks the Blades

Instead, after shaking hands briefly with Nigel Clough and the rest of the Sheffield United coaching staff, Danny Wilson’s response to the final whistle blowing – to signal Barnsley had claimed all three points on his first return to Bramall Lane since being sacked 18 months earlier – was to immediately head down the tunnel.

As the Reds players basked in the acclaim of almost 3,000 deliriously happy travelling supporters, Wilson was already back in the dressing room.

Plenty of managers formerly of the S2 parish would have taken the opportunity to bask in their success.

But not Wilson, who despite being shown the door with United sitting in a League One play-off place, had made it clear to his squad beforehand that collecting all three points was his only focus. Getting one over his old employer was not mentioned once.

This single-minded approach continued post-match, with Wilson’s only words to the delighted players in the dressing room being what defender Lewin Nyatanga describes as a “short, sharp debrief”.

“I am sure the manager was very happy to come back to his old team and win,” added the 26-year-old who, alongside Peter Ramage, played such a pivotal role in keeping the United attack at bay.

“But the main focus all along was us winning. Wherever we had been playing, the manager just wanted us to win.

“That was what the whole day was about and all the manager really said afterwards was how we now have to keep going. And how it is back to work on Monday in order to kick on.”

The two teams went into the derby with contrasting form over the previous four games, the Blades having won the lot in contrast to a Barnsley outfit who had conceded nine goals, collected one point from a possible nine and had been knocked out of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy on penalties.

What those results did not show from the Reds’ perspective, however, was the improved level of performance that Wilson’s men had been putting in.

It meant that, even allowing for the nine places and 10 points that separated the two teams before kick-off, the derby encounter was likely to be a hard fought 
affair between two reasonably well-matched teams.

So it proved, with the eventual victors having to show some true Yorkshire grit to protect a lead that had been earned by the grateful acceptance of a chance that the hosts, when presented with a similar one later on, wasted.

The winner came 12 minutes into the second half and just moments after Devante Cole had brought a sprawling save from Mark Howard with a curling shot.

Conor Hourihane took the resulting corner and produced such a pinpoint delivery that Sam Winnall, inexplicably left all alone by the home defence, was able to thunder a bullet-header past Howard.

On the few chances that had been created up to that point, Barnsley could perhaps be considered to be slightly fortunate to have gone ahead.

Winnall had, admittedly, wasted a great opening in the first half, but so, too, had Craig Alcock and Jamal Campbell-Ryce.

The Blades, though, could have less complaint at the result come the final whistle after failing to convert a very similar chance to the one that Winnall had accepted just before the hour mark.

Twenty-one minutes remained when United’s big moment came as Jose Baxter’s free-kick reached an unmarked Marc McNulty.

However, unlike Winnall, the substitute could only head lamely over the crossbar with just goalkeeper Ross Turnbull to beat.

It was a big let-off for Barnsley, who then had to weather a late storm of Blades pressure as, first, Turnbull saved bravely at the feet of Stefan Scougall before holding on to a drilled shot from Ryan Flynn.

The final whistle blew not long after to leave the Blades frustrated to have fired a blank for the first time since the opening week of the season.

Michael Higdon, the scorer of two goals in the midweek Capital One Cup win at MK Dons, had been a surprise absentee with a hamstring strain.

With McNulty left on the bench, that left Baxter to lead the line with support from Scougall.

Neither, though, really clicked, thanks in part to the dogged performances of Nyatanga and Ramage.

Both put their bodies on the line to block any effort that looked in danger of heading goalwards, while Joe Dudgeon, the on-loan Hull City left-back, also excelled and the challenge for Wilson’s side now is to build on what was only their third clean sheet of the League One season.

Nyatanga said: “The main thing was getting the three points but I thought we performed well. After we scored, we had to defend but we did it really well and kept our shape.

“Our fans really helped us a lot. There were so many behind the goal and it gave us such a boost every time we made a block.

“They were so loud and 
towards the end it almost felt like we were playing a home match.

“In terms of our season, this could be a big result. I feel a bit of consistency is coming now.

“But we have to keep it going. It is such fine margins in this league. We are a young team that is developing but I feel the only way is up for us.”