Billy Sharp’s double gave Sheffield United a 2-1 victory over Leeds Unite in a tense Yorkshire derby at Bramall Lane this lunchtime.
The boyhood Blades fan and former Leeds striker fired a brilliant second-minute opener and then converted a 73rd-minute penalty after Pierre-Michel Lassoga’s 47th-minute equaliser.
Paul Heckingbottom makes his managerial bow as Leeds United boss
The fact that Leeds’ new manager is their fourteenth in 14 years since the club was relegated from the Premier League tells you all you need to know about the turmoil at Elland Road in recent times.
But in paying the best part of £500,000 to prise Heckingbottom away from Barnsley, Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani will hope he has landed the man to steer the club back to the top flight.
Leeds were sluggish during the opening 45 minutes as Sheffield United established a 1-0 lead through Billy Sharp’s delightful second-minute strike.
It was the least the Blades deserved for their first-half superiority.
Yet whatever Heckingbottom said to his men at the break worked a treat.
Within two minutes they were level as Pierre-Michel Lassoga greeted Pablo Hernandez’s left-wing cross with a superb far-post header which flew past United goalkeeper Jamal Blackman.
Heckingbottom celebrated in his technical area by hugging assistant Jamie Clapham and sports science guru Nathan Winder.
But a blatant trip by Eunan O’Kane on John Fleck gave Billy Sharp the chance to score the winner from the penalty spot – and he took it.
Billy Sharp remains a class act
The 32-year-old had a mixed season at Leeds during the 2014/15 campaign but he has proved a major hit since returning to Sheffield United in July 2015.
Last season his goals helped the Blades to promotion from League One as champions and his brace here left him with his 11 goals so far this term. Sharp was an unused substitute in United’s previous two games but he rewarded Chris Wilder’s faith in him with a brilliant opener inside the second minute.
Connecting sweetly with Mark Duffy’s right-wing cross, Sharp hit an unstoppable right-foot volley which flew into the roof of the net from 14 yards.
Although Leeds improved after the break and levelled through Pierre-Michel Lassoga’s header, Sharp’s well-taken penalty sealed the win.
Sheffield United’s top-six hopes remain alive
There is no shortage of ambition or desire at either of these famous Yorkshire clubs.
At times this season, it has been easy to forget that Sheffield United spent the previous six campaigns in the relative abyss of League One. They cut a swathe through the Championship in the early months of 2017/18 before they began to gradually hit the buffers.
A top-six finish is still not beyond then, but consolidation was the aim when they kicked off in August and that will be achieved quite comfortably. As for Leeds, this defeat was another hammer blow to their play-off prospects and they are without a win in eight games now.
Leeds’ away support is better than many Premier League clubs
Say what you like about Leeds United, and many have throughout the years, but their away support ranks among the best in the country.
There were 2,236 fans who filled the bottom tier of the away stand at Bramall Lane and the noise was deafening at times.
Okay, so there was no justification for one Whites follower running on the pitch waving a Leeds scarf at the irate home fans when Pierre-Michel Lassoga equalised, or for the firecracker being set off moments later.
But football fans live for times like this – the celebration of a goal in a big Yorkshire derby – and how the raucous away contingent milked the moment.
