Sheffield United 2 Hull City 1: Indiscipline costly as wrong former Blade settles Yorkshire derby
Perhaps it was inevitable that it was a former Sheffield United player playing his first game back at Bramall Lane who decided the Yorkshire derby against Hull City, but it was not the man it had looked like being.
When Oli McBurnie put Hull in front five minutes into his return to his old stomping ground, it looked like the Blades' better performance might be punished by the visitors' sharper focus.
As the match ticked into its 74th minute, that remained the case.
But when John Lundstram – another former Blade playing at the ground for the first time since leaving the club – was sent off, punished as much for some immaturity in the corner with Mark McGuinness 10 minutes earlier as the foul on Andre Brooks which drew his second yellow card, an increasingly feisty game turned the way of the home side.
They claimed their first win in six matches, Hull their sixth defeat in 11 to drop to the final Championship play-off place, four points behind chasing Wrexham, who have a game in hand.
Hull started brightly, Mohamed Belloumi winning a corner in less than a minute after the shot he made space for was deflected behind. Within another minute Lundstram shot well wide off balance.
Callum O'Hare had a shot blocked at the other end, and Mark McGuinness' deflected follow-up was saved.
With just five minutes om the clock, McBurnie put Hull in front on his first return to Bramall Lane.
It all came from a Sydie Peck mistake typical of his team's sloppiness, picking out Liam Millar rather than Femi Seriki. Millar played McBurnie in for the finish.
Joe Rothwell made the same mistake in the 16th minute, only for Lundstram's ball in to be cut out.
He did, though, play in Harrison Burrows, who opened his body up too much and put the ball into the side netting from what was probably a crossing position. He also might have picked Patrick Bamford out but for John Egan's crucial header at the back post.
Hull broke from it, and Millar shot onto the roof of the net.
But as the half went on, the football was increasingly played in the direction of Ivor Pandur's goal, undermined by a lack of care which had the home fans groaning at slack offsides and sloppy passes.
But Callum O'Hare's shot after bursting through was weak, and when Gustavo Hamer nicked the ball off Belloumi as he went to shoot, the counter-attack ended with a lame Bamford shot down the middle.
Hull had good chances inbetween time.
It was Seriki who gave the ball away cheaply on the half-hour and although the moved lacked a bit of impetus by the time Lundstram played Belloumi's cross back to McBurnie, it took a clearance from McGuinness to stop the striker finding the net with an overhead kick.
Shortly after Matt Crooks curled just wide, then Adam Davies had to sprint off his line to deny Belloumi after Lundstram turned too easily and released Millar.
The final minutes of the half, though, were all about the Blades.
Substitute Paddy McNair did well to cut out the cross after Hamer played Seriki in with a great pass, then when the full-back pulled the ball back to the penalty spot, O'Hare failed to hold his run and instead it went to Lewie Coyle.
Peck took too heavy a touch when the fans were screaming "Shoot!" and Egan stabbed a Brooks header off his own line.
Again, Hull started the second half strongly, Egan shooting direct from the kick-off for the second time this season and Belloumi putting an effort wide when off balance.
But again the Blades took control, Amir Hadziahmetovic needing to make a vital interception from a Seriki cross, although Japhet Tanganga had to do the same to deny Millar in the 63rd minute.
They were really starting to apply the pressure when Lundstram was sent off.
After a backheeled one-two with Jairo Riedewald, Hamer put in a ball Bamford very nearly stretched to and the hosts began to rack up the corners and throw-ins. Segej Jakirovic brought Joe Gelhardt and Kyle Joseph off the bench to try to offer a threat the other way, but his plans very quickly went out of the window.
Lundstram was on a yellow card after some playground antics which saw him leave a leg in as McGuinness tackled him and the defender throw it away, earning himself a caution too.
So when the Lundstram clattered into Andre Brooks near halfway a second yellow card was inevitable, as unhappy as he was about it as he stomped down the tunnel.
With 75 minutes on the clock, it turned the game.
Davies did well to cut out a Semi Ajayi ball which would otherwise have presented McBurnie with a tap-in, then in the 84th minute John Brooks punished some ridiculous penalty-area wrestling which saw Bamford, Riedewald and Tahith Chong end up on the ground.
Gustavo Hamer sent Pandur the wrong way from 12 yards and the game got ever more fractious, with five more bookings.
Both managers recognised the situation, Chris Wilder throwing centre-forward Danny Ings on for centre-back McGuinness, Jakirovic making the opposite change with Charlie Hughes replacing McBurnie.
It worked for Wilder.
With two minutes of regulation time remaining, Tanganga put a ball in from the right and Ings calmly controlled and finished for only his second goal as a Blade.
It was a dagger blow for Hull, but one of their own making.
Sheffield United: A Davies; Seriki (Hoever 63), Tanganga, McGuinness (Ings 85), Burrows; Peck (Riedewald 70), Rothwell; Brooks, O'Hare (Chong 63), Hamer; Bamford.
Unused substitutes: Arblaster, Hjelde, Bindon, Cannon, Faxon.
Hull City: Pandur; Drameh (McNair 20), Ajayi, Egan, Coyle; Hadziahmetovic (Dowell 87), Lundstram; Belloumi (Joseph 70), Crooks, Millar (Gelhardt 70); McBurnie (Hughes 87).
Unused substitutes: Phillips, Jacob, Gyabi, McCarthy.
Referee: J Brooks (Melton Mowbray).