Sheffield United lifted by extra 'Star Man' to book their place at Wembley

Play-offs have a habit of taking the mickey out of logic, but the team with the fewest points ever to reach the second-tier play-offs – so depleted by absentees on Monday that they could not name a full bench – never had a prayer against the side with the joint most (level with Leeds United's 90 last year), even if for the first 30 minutes at Bramall Lane things had been anything but nerveless.

A 6-0 aggregate scoreline – matched only by Crewe Alexandra's 9-3 Division Four play-off win over Walsall in 1993 – told the story of how much better United had been once they took advantage of the things that went their way.

The first leg turned on the controversial red card for Rob Dickie at the end of the first half, turning 0-0 to 3-0.

In the second, Sheffield United had a 12th man looking down on them from a huge banner used to cover some of the empty seats in the Bramall Lane End.

Even with a sold-out away end, only 26,543 were there for the second leg, the Blades suffering from the Robins' refusal to let them cut ticket prices, some fans perhaps mindful that with no kick-off time for the final yet announced, they did not know if they would be forking out for overnight stays – the last train back to Sheffield is 8.30.

And Thursday's 3-0 win took a lot of jeopardy out of the tie.

But somehow it was back at kick-off.

Two-nil is a tricky lead, the cliche goes, but in Monday's early stages, 3-0 was feeling weirdly troublesome too.

"We had everything to lose," said Blades manager Chris Wilder.

As the teams emerged the home fans seemed determined to make up for the noise that stayed at home, but the Blades were unable to play in a way that kept the momentum up.

"You don't want it to be a game of basketball, you don't want it to open up," said Wilder of his tactical dilemma.

"The atmosphere completely changes if they get the first goal.

"It wasn't a negative approach, we wanted to get out of the traps but you've got to give them credit and say they started better than us."

A shot wide by surprise selection Tom Cannon apart, the first 15 minutes were all Bristol City as they pushed on both wing-backs and both inside-forwards to present a front five to the Blades' back four.

Eventually the hosts stemmed the tide but half-an-hour in, they were still not throwing punches beyond a Kieffer Moore effort from near the junction of touchline and halfway line that reeked of desperation.

Then, some good news for Sheffield United: Moore got injured.

Not badly, just enough for a few minutes of treatment so Wilder called his players in for a "time-out".

"I don't think we got the press right from the off, which was an important part of the game," he reflected.

"We were a little bit too wide on the sides and they found the pockets (of space between the centre-backs and full-backs) and caused us problems.

"We narrowed up a little bit and made them go on the outside of us.

"I think we thought we just needed to calm down and get some passes in but for me I think that was the time to go and hurt them."

For the next 10 minutes, Sheffield United did "find their moments". That was all it needed.

Gustavo Hamer's cross was just too high for Cannon and Andre Brooks after shrugging George Tanner off the ball, Cannon pounced on Cameron Pring's loose pass to win a corner.

Harrison Burrows forced another one with a deflected shot from the first long throw of the game, and a good Max O'Leary save from it.

Sydie Peck's dangerous ball in won another flag kick.

From it, Moore rose highest and headed in. If 3-0 was surprisingly nervy, 4-0 was chilled out.

Finally, 41 minutes in, the home fans dared sing "We're going to Wembley."

"That goal just settled us all down," admitted Wilder.

And once they scored their second, they could bring on an extra man.

Because when Hamer doubled the lead with the help of a huge deflection at a well-worked 52nd-minute corner, Bramall Lane's first instinct was not to sing about Wembley.

Almost to a man and women they were on their feet, clapping in unison.

"There's a star man running down the right," they roared. "His name is Georgie Baldock."

The reworking of David Bowie's classic has been sung many times at Bramall Lane, especially after the former wing-back's death in October aged 31, but seldom as passionately.

Never mind the tie being put to bed, suddenly there was an atmosphere which guaranteed the Blades could not possibly lose the game.

Callum O'Hare once more came off the bench to great effect, his goal after 83 minutes just starting the song up again.

At full-time, the players posed with a Greek flag – Milton Keynes-born Baldock played for Greece – with the club's logo superimposed, and Star Man started up again.

Eleven versus 10, then 12 v 11. It was hardly fair on the Robins.