West Bromwich Albion 2 Sheffield United 2: Only a draw, but a victory for Sheffield steel

The answer was impressive.

The Blades manage likes to talk about footballers who only play "when the sun is shining". His team, could certainly not be accused of that at The Hawthorns.

You could not say they played particularly well on a cold, dark and miserable afternoon in the Black Country. Nor did they win.

Given the Baggies have drawn 10 of their last 11 games, you might argue taking a point was nothing to write home about it but this was a really gritty hard-fought 2-2 which sent the visitors back to the top of the Championship.

Wilder gathered his players together for a huddle before they stood in front of the away end. It felt like another message – to the fans who watched in miserable conditions, and to the rest of the division.

It was the sort of performance you expect from a grizzled team of veterans, yet at one point Sheffield United had more players under the age of 22 playing than over it.

"When you play against a team like Sheffield United you can never lose concentration for even one moment," said Baggies coach Carlos Corberan at full-time.

Without both their first-choice centre-backs, centre-forward Kieffer Moore and talismanic central midfielder Oliver Arblaster – plus for the final half-hour goalscorer Tyrese Campbell, it was a big result.

Quite how they went into half-time in front was a mystery, but a huge tick in the box marked "character".

They had barely had a kick in the first half, struggling without the suspended Anel Ahmedhodzic and Harry Souttar in the face of a half-hour long Baggies onslaught as the home side continued to put crosses into their box, mainly from left wing-back Callum Styles in open play, or his former Barnsley team-mate Alex Mowatt at set pieces.

All the Blades could offer in response was a couple of blocked shots.

So it was no surprise when Torbjorn Heggem headed the hosts in front at a corner, a huge shock when the visitors hit back with two goals from low Harrison Burrows crosses in as many minutes.

With 23 minutes gone, Michael Cooper had to touch a Jayson Molumby cross behind and from the second of consecutive Mowatt corners Heggem got above Vinicius Souza to head in.

The next time the ball went out of player manager Wilder called his Brazilian midfielder over to remind him of what he needed from him.

It made little difference, Josh Maja picking his pocket soon after, and the Blades relieved Cooper ciollected Darnell Furlong's cross.

Jesurun Rak-Sakyi's booking for diving just added to the feeling of desperation.

But from nowhere, something clicked.

Barely a minute after Sydie Peck picked Gustavo Hamer out for a blocked shot, he released Burrows down the left. The cross ricocheted off Kyle Bartley and Callum O'Hare poked the rebound in through Alex Palmer's legs.

Then Hamer found Burrows and another low cross from the byline met with the outstretched boot of Campbell for his sixth goal in eight games.

Ridiculously, it should have been a third in five minutes but found by Hamer, Peck curled over from outside the area to his very obvious annoyance.

The Blades' luck took an unfortunate turn in the second half when Campbell suffered an injury – to his back, not his hamstring as it appeared – as he challenged the back-tracking Karlam Grant. Minutes earlier the striker had forced a rare save from Palmer.

Moore's return – slated to be at Millwall on Wednesday – looks well timed.

Within five minutes of Campbell's departure, the Baggies were level, Tom Fellows cutting inside Burrows and hitting a shot which looped over Cooper off Hamer.

Rak-Sakyi had space to run into on the counter-attack but produced a shot across goal which was easy for Palmer to drop on.

Generally, though, the traffic was in the opposite direction with West Brom's Mikey Johnston a growing threat but when he had plenty of time to pick his spot in the 79th minute, he ballooned his effort.

It took an outstanding Femi Seriki tackle – his last involvement – to stop Grant waltzing though on the counter-attack and quickly after Wilder tried to bolt the door shut by throwing on Rhys Norrington-Davies as a third centre-back.

That it did the job felt significant.

West Bromwich Albion: Palmer; Furlong, Bartley, Heggem; Fellows, Molumby, Mowatt (Racic 73), Johnston (Cole 86), Styles (Holgate 82); Grant, Maja (Swift 86). Unused substitutes: Wallace, Diakite, Dobbin, Wildsmith, Frabotta.

Sheffield United: Cooper; Seriki (Norrington-Davies 86), Gilchrist, Robinson, Burrows; Souza, Peck; Rak-Sakyi (Brewster 75), O'Hare (Shackleton 86), Hamer; Campbell (One 57). Unused substitutes: McCallum, A Davies, T Davies, Baptiste, Brooks.

Referee: D Webb (County Durham).

West Bromwich Albion: Palmer; Furlong, Bartley, Heggem; Fellows, Molumby, Mowatt (Racic 73), Johnston (Cole 86), Styles (Holgate 82); Grant, Maja (Swift 86).

Unused substitutes: Wallace, Diakite, Dobbin, Wildsmith, Frabotta.

Sheffield United: Cooper; Seriki (Norrington-Davies 86), Gilchrist, Robinson, Burrows; Souza, Peck; Rak-Sakyi (Brewster 75), O'Hare (Shackleton 86), Hamer; Campbell (One 57).

Unused substitutes: McCallum, A Davies, T Davies, Baptiste, Brooks.

Referee: D Webb (County Durham).