Sheffield United 3 Ipswich Town 1: Perfectly imperfect Blades victory in game which has full Championship mix
At times it was ugly, at times it was scrappy and at all times it was feisty. After consecutive defeats, any sort of win would have been gorgeous in the eyes of the Sheffield United supporters, so to beat an Ipswich Town side showing ominous signs of life as the Championship season goes on 3-1 certainly was.
Much of the entertainment came not from pure football but mistakes and a fierce edge, yet some beautiful bits mixed in with it helped see the Blades over the line.
In short, it was the sort of mix that makes Championship football so watchable.
As it was, they saw an exquisite Callum O'Hare finish, two lovely first-time assists from Gustavo Hamer and some excellent Michael Cooper goalkeeping in amongst the scraps, the defensive errors, the Patrick Bamford red card for diving and the woefully off-target passes.
On only his second start of the season – the other was in September – Tom Davies took about 40 seconds setting the tone. Fortunately he pulled out of the sliding tackle he launched himself into so the punishment was only a free-kick, and no more.
Ipswich had two good chances in the fifth minute, former Leeds United winger Jack Clarke volleyed over at the far post, then Sindre Walle Egeli robbed Ben Mee, only for Michael Cooper to flick his shot wide of the post.
It took 13 minutes for the Blades to have a good chance and a couple of minutes after a badly mishit Sydie Peck drew groans from the stands, this came from another, this time by Hamer.
But Jacob Greaves made a hash of his backpass, allowing Andre Brooks to get the ball after all. It was pulled back to O'Hare, only for Dara O''Shea to make an excellent goalline stop.
Five minutes later Femi Seriki did brilliantly to get to the byline and Christian Walton pushed his save from Bamford out to Hamer, then denied him too.
Bamford did brilliantly in the 27th minute dropping deep to set off a counter-attack with a chest pass but it meant he was out of the picture when Sam McCallum steered a wonderful first-time cross, and no one else anticipated it either.
When Ben Mee overhead-kicked over as he wrestled a defender at his back, it was clear the Blades were now the team on top.
Yet it was Ipswich who might have taken the lead, a falling Cooper saving brilliantly from George Hirst – son of Sheffield Wednesday legend David – then putting Sammie Szmodics' follow-up behind for a coner.
The home team broke from it, Hamer releasing O'Hare with a lovely volleyed pass.
As O'Hare delicately dinked over Walton and into the net, a shove in his back pushed his head onto the outstretched leg of the goalkeeper, leaving the scorer needing his head bandaging up. All hell broke out around him, leading to a booking for Walton, then one for Chris Wilder as the aggro spread to the two benches.
One-nil was probably a fair half-time reflection, but the Blades made it two just as the half was coming to an end, referee waving play on after Darnell Furlong fouled O'Hare. Bamford's shot was saved, as was Seriki's follow-up, but Brooks' shot took a touch of Azor Matusiwa to beat the goalkeeper.
The players headed down the tunnel with Szmodics being held back from Peck after an angry exchange in front of the Kop which once more both sets pf players piled into.
The second half continued in the same vein, especially with a hint of elbow as Cedric Kipre clattered into O'Hare. Me headed Hamer's free-kick wide.
Perhaps Kipre and Szmodics were substituted for their own protection shortly afterwards, on the back of Cooper saving Clarke's volley.
With Ipswich back in the game shortly afterwards, things got nervy at Bramall Lane.
Mark McGuinness raced out to block a Jack Taylor shot, his arm not close enough to his body to save him when the shot struck. Clarke's penalty just went the right side of the goalline off Cooper's right-hand post.
With an hour gone, it was game on.
It could have been level four minutes later, but with Brooks running across his eyeline, substitute Leif Davis failed to finish off a good counter-attack.
So for Bamford to restore the two-goal cushion in the 66th minute was a huge relief.
Cooper humped the ball long and Bamford fought Dara O'Shea for it, causing the centre-back to knock the ball to Hamer. Bamford put his first-time pass in off the upright.
Brooks had the chance to put the game beyond doubt in the 78th minute but, opening up his body, shot well wide.
In his first game at Blades captain, Bamford let the team down for the closing stages.
Booked in the 75th minute for kicking an advertising hoarding in frustration, he was played through in the 84th and seeing Walton come out to tackle him, went over claiming a penalty despite being a fair way behind the goalkeeper's outstretched left boot. Tom Nield sent him off.
It – and Walton's save to stop O'Hare giving the scoreline a more comfortable feel in the sixth added minute – felt about right for a perfectly imperfect victory.
Sheffield United: Cooper; Seriki, McGuinness, Mee, McCallum; Peck, T Davies (Arblaster 63); Brooks (Hoever 87), O'Hare, Hamer (Cannon 72); Bamford.
Unused substitutes: Burrows, A Davies, Campbell, Chong, Matos, Sasnauskas.
Ipswich Town: Walton; Furlong, O'Shea, Kipre (Davis 56), Greaves; , Matusiwa, Taylor (Cajuste 71); Walle Egeli (Mehmeti 71), Szmodics (Burns 56), Clarke; Hirst (Azon 56).
Unused substitutes: Palmer, Johnson, McAteer, Baggott.
Referee: T Nield (Huddersfield).