Football under the floodlights can sometimes have a special tingle about it. Equally, though, on the Championship treadmill, other Tuesday nights are just a slog.

Sheffield United came up against the latter but without getting anywhere near their best found enough to see off a very limited Oxford United comfortably enough with classy goals from Sydie Peck, Andre Brooks, his third in as many games, and Chiedozie Ogbene.

It was one of those flat nights that test you as fans and players.

Sheffield United did their best to lift the atmosphere by introducing Kalvin Phillips and Joe Rothwell before kick-off but with a small away following, gaps in the home sections and snow in the air, the football matched it.

Even the booing of the officials as they went off was well short of half-hearted – more like tenth-hearted.

These are the sort of nights people have in mind when they ask if the fancy dans can do it on a cold Tuesday.

It was not a game which will last long in the memory, but the type proper teams win. Quite whether a side as up and down as the Blades qualify as that is open to debate but on their good days at least they have plenty of character – more than enough to grind out a 3-1 win against relegation-threatened opponents.

Too many passes went astray from those in red-and-white stripes and there was a general lack of oomph about the football.

MAKING HIS POINT: Sheffield United's Chiedozie Ogbene scores to make it 3-1 (Image: Andrew Yates / Sportimage)

placeholder image — MAKING HIS POINT: Sheffield United's Chiedozie Ogbene scores to make it 3-1 (Image: Andrew Yates / Sportimage)

Oxford took advantage early on.

A minute after Peck had shot from way out after Jamie Cumming left his area and gave the ball away, a goalkeeping error at the other end proved more costly.

Cameron Branngan also shot from an optimistic distance and Michael Cooper did not deal with the swerving ball well, pushing it to Myles Peart-Harris, who gobbled the chance 13 minutes in.

Even that did not kick the Blades into life.

EQUALISER: Sydie Peck steers the ball into the Oxford United net (Image:: Andrew Yates / Sportimage)

Femi Seriki took a tumble in the 21st minute but whether or not his trailing leg was clipped by former Huddersfield Town defender Brodie Spencer – it was hard to see – referee Anthony Backhouse was not having it.

It took Gustavo Hamer to liven things up.

In the 33rd minute he flashed a shot wide from distance, only for Will Vaulks to do the same at the other end. In first-half stoppage time he produced a lovely backheel and, when Harrison Burrows failed to make anything of it, curled a shot which clipped the crossbar.

In between time Sheffield United took the lead, Oliver Arblaster spreading a lovely ball to Burrows, out on the right after taking a set piece and he responded with a pass well measured for Peck to pass into the net.

SHOT: Andre Brooks tries his luck for Sheffield United (Image: Simon Bellis / Sportimage)

Suddenly just defending was no longer enough for the Us.

The half-time talk the Blades got did little to alter their tackle, Seriki having to make an important challenge inside a minute of the restart to put Peart-Harris off a shot.

It felt like a 4-4-2 kind of a night, and when Chris Wilder took his ineffective No 10 Callum O'Hare off for another centre-forward it quickly had an effect.

When the Blades took the lead in the 66th-minute, it was a good mixture of silk and steel.

Tom Cannon – leading the line in the absence of the injured Patrick Bamford – showed the latter, outmuscling his man and heading for the byline. Brooks produced a lovely touch from the pull-back to win some space and a second to steady himself before scoring his third goal in as many games, helped in by Cumming's right hand.

The third was special too, a sweeping ball from Hamer to the recently-introduced Ogbene who controlled on the run and found the net for the first time as a Blade.

HEADS UP: Tyler Bindon jumps highrest for the ball (Image:: Andrew Yates / Sportimage)

Instantly Leo Hjelde was introduced for a brief debut, and Hamer was given a breather.

The win may not have been flash, but six wins sand a draw from the last seven home games is eye-catching.

Sheffield United: Cooper; Seriki, Tanganga, Bindon, Burrows (Hjelde 84); Arblaster (Soumare 61), Peck; Brooks (Ogbene 71), O'Hare (Campbell 61), Hamer (Chong 84); Cannon.

Unused substitutes: Ings, Hoever, A Davies, McGuinness.

Oxford United: Cumming; Long (Dembele 78), Helik, Brown; Spencer, Vaulks, Brannagan (Konak 78), Makosso; Peart-Harris (Romeny 78), Płacheta (Mills 60); Lankshear (Harris 60).

Unused substitutes: Mark, Leigh, Davies, Ingram, Jeon Jin-Woo.

Referee: A Backhouse (Teesside).