Sheffield United 1 Crawley Town 0: Baxter wonder strike seals it for the Blades

He let fly from 25 yards after the break to give Nigel Clough’s men victory but said: “I’m not going to blow my own trumpet... I’ll be watching Match of the Day tonight and I’m sure they’ll be flying in left, right and centre.”

Sheffield United assistant manager Chris Morgan, however, said it was a “goal worthy of winning any game.”

In a match where Clough’s side really had to dig in, Baxter’s strike lit up an otherwise forgettable encounter as Crawley proved difficult to break down.

Former central defender Morgan was particularly pleased that the Blades managed to keep the visitors out.

“It was our first clean sheet in 13 games so it was a good 1-0 win at home,” he added.

Crawley had hit the ground running in the first half with Bobson Bawling and Gwion Edwards both being denied.

Baxter gave Blades the lead in the 48th minute when his long-range shot beat Crawley goalkeeper Brian Jensen.

Michael Higdon almost doubled their advantage but his effort was cleared by the visitors’ Conor Henderson.

Victory will have lifted confidence for the trip to West Ham in the second round of the Capital One Cup tomorrow.

Crawley manager John Gregory, however, felt that his side had Sheffield United rattled and felt the boos ringing around Bramall Lane at half-time and towards the end backed up that claim.

Sheffield United: Howard, Alcock, McGahey, Collins, McEveley (Harris 86), Davies, Basham, Doyle, Murphy, Baxter (Flynn 69), Higdon (Reed 79). Unused substitutes: McNulty, McGinn, Campbell-Ryce, Turner.

Crawley Town: Jensen, Oyebanjo (Banya 84), Leacock, Walsh, Dickson, Edwards, Bawling, Henderson, Smith, Young (Tomlin 75), McLeod. Unused substitutes: Bradley, Rose, O’Connor.

Referee: A D’Urso (Essex).

Man of the match: Neil Collins.