Sheffield United 0 Crystal Palace 1: Spirit and scoreline cannot disguise gulf in class for under-equipped Blades

The side Paul Heckingbottom put out on the opening weekend is just not equipped for the step up in class it is facing. There is time left until the window closes, but not much.

The addition of Gustavo Hamer – welcomed to Bramall Lane shortly before kick-off – will certainly help but against Crystal Palace, four of the front five were players who were not first-choices in last season's Championship run-in, alongside debutant Benie Traore.

It says a lot for their spirit that they were still in the contest right to the end, helped when the visitors had two goals disallowed for offside. But spirit alone will not cut it in this high-quality league.

If the scoreline gave the crowd hope, one shot on target showed the reality.

Palace are far from one the division's leading lights but they still have pace to burn in their forward line, and the skill of Eberechi Eze.

The first-choice defensive unit from last season's run-in started the game, but in front of them, it felt like Sheffield United had brought a knife to a gunfight, only to stop on the way to pawn it. The players lined up on the bench looked greener than the August pitch.

Despite that, the home side started positively.

Lifted by the appearance of Hamer – signed from Coventry City the previous evening to replace Sander Berge – on the pitch 10 minutes before kick-off, the Unitedites realised their responsibility and did everything they could to urge the home team on.

Had Osula's shot on the turn could just the other side of the post in the ninth minute, they would have gone berserk.

But it was shortly afterwards that Palace began to exert control, finishing the first half with twice as much of the ball as their hosts.

The defence did its best to keep Wes Foderingham's workload to a minimum, blocking twice each from Odsonne Edouard and Eberechi Eze.

When the goalkeeper was called upon, by Joachim Anderson, a swerving shot met with an unconvincing punch to Jordan Ayew, who headed in from an offside position. On the half-hour he got down to save from Edourad.

Anel Ahmedhodzic did enough to put Edouard off at a corner headed on by Marc Guehi.

The Blades threw the odd counter-punch, John Egan twice heading off target at corners and Oliver Norwood shooting straight at Sam Johnstone after a good move down the right started by Traore's lovely turn. Forty-four minutes in, it was the Blades' first and last on target.

Traore, one of two players with Ben Osborn playing behind Osula, started the second half well by winning a hopeful long ball, then closing down Guehi well, but that alone could not change the flow of the game.

Osborn was beaten too easily when he found himself against Ayew in Jack Robinson's position, and when the cross was fizzed over, Edouard got ahead of Anel Ahmedhodzic to tap in. The only surprise was that the 50th-minute lead was never added to.

Eze hit a free-kick into the wall, Edouard headed straight at Foderingham after getting free at a dead ball.

The ball was scrambled clear after Foderingham saved from Jeffrey Schlupp and he made an excellent low stop to keep out Joachim Anderson's header at a corner.

Between them came the sort of moment to stop fans heading for the exits early, a Jefferson Lerma cross well cut out with Eze waiting for a tap-in followed by a counter-attack wchich saw Osula shoot so narrowly wide many in the stands were celebrating.

Sadly, it was nothing more than an optical illusion.

New signings Vinicius Souza, Anis Slimane and Yasser Larouci all came on for debuts, along with youngsters Andre Brooks and Antwoine Hackford. Heckingbottom's pre-match phrase about "rabits in the headlights" sprang to mind with a couple of them.

The next visitors to Bramall Lane will be Bramall Lane.

The Blades board simply have to tool their manager up far better if this squad is to stand any chance of being competitive over a 38-game season.

Sheffield United: Foderingham; Ahmedhodzic, Egan, Robinson (Slimane 80); Baldock, Basham (Souza 80), Norwood, Lowe (Larouci 80); Traore (Hackford 89), Osborn (Brooks 89); Osula.

Unused substitutes: Davies, Trusty, Marsh, Seriki.

Crystal Palace: Johnstone; Ward, Andersen, Guehi (Tomkins 90+2), Mitchell; Doucoure, Lerma; Schlupp, Eze, J Ayew; Edouard.

Unused substitutes: Mateta, Clyne, Richards, Ahamada, Matthews, Gordon, Riedewald, Rak-Sakyi.

Referee: J Brooks (Leicestershire).