Dan Neil's red card changed the game as ten-man Sunderland were beaten by promotion hopefuls Sheffield United at Bramall Lane. It was the Black Cats' first defeat since returning to the Championship, and their first league defeat since mid-February - Alex Neil's second game in charge.
Sunderland had to play for an hour shorthanded after Dan Neil was dismissed for a professional foul, having held back James McAtee when he was through on goal. Almost immediately, Anel Ahmedhodzic headed the Blades in front from a set-piece.
And then right at the start of the second half, Max Lowe added a second for the South Yorkshire outfit. Lynden Gooch pulled a goal back ten minutes into the second period with a delicate chip, but Sunderland could not build up a head of steam and force an equaliser.
READ MORE: Sheffield United 2-1 Sunderland: Highlights and reaction from Bramall Lane
Neil made two changes to the side that drew against QPR at the weekend, with Luke O'Nien replacing the injured Daniel Ballard, while Elliot Embleton came into the starting XI in place of Corry Evans, who was absent from the squad and presumably also missed out through injury. Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom also made two changes, in his case to the side that drew 2-2 at Middlesbrough on Sunday.
He gave on-loan Manchester City midfielder McAtee his Championship debut, replacing James Fleck, while Rhian Brewster came in for the injured Billy Sharp. Sunderland took the game to their hosts and Gooch saw an early shot saved by Wes Foderingham, before Jack Clarke got into the box down the left only to see his low cross cut out by a defender before it could reach anyone in a blue shirt.
The Blades still offered a threat, however, and when an uncharacteristically poor touch from Alex Pritchard presented the ball to Brewster, Sunderland were relieved to see the former Liverpool youngster blaze his shot high and wide from the edge of the box. Sunderland were soon back on the attack and Ross Stewart slid in and was inches away from making contact with a dangerous cross from Gooch, and a couple of minutes later the Scot fired narrowly wide from outside the box.
On the half-hour, Brewster saw a powerful long-range effort saved by Anthony Patterson. But then in the 31st minute came the moment that changed the course of the match.
A bad touch from Neil gave away possession to McAtee, and the Sunderland man dragged him down rather than allow him a free run on goal - albeit he was still 30 yards from goal. Referee James Linington immediately produced the red card and sent Neil on his way.
From the resulting free-kick, Sunderland cleared the ball for a corner but from that second set-piece, the Blades took the lead in the 33rd minute. Oliver Norwood's corner from the left found the head of Ahmedhodzic on the move inside the box as he peeled away from Dennis Cirkin, and he planted a firm header past Patterson from close range.
For the remainder of the first half, it was one-way traffic with Rhys Norrington-Davies and George Baldock missing the target when presented with opportunities, while Sander Berge, Baldock, and Iliman Ndiaye saw efforts blocked. Sheffield doubled their lead within a couple of minutes of the restart, and that stage the game looked dead and buried.
Norwood's pass into the right side of the box was dummied by Sander Berge and it ran through for Ahmedhodzic, who rolled the ball square for Lowe to tap in from inside the six-yard box. Ten minutes into the second period, Neil made a triple substitution, sending on Jay Matete, Bailey Wright, and Trai Hume for Ellis Simms, Pritchard, and Embleton, and it immediately paid dividends as the Black Cats pulled a goal back.
Former Sunderland academy man John Egan's pass looking for McAtee was read by Matete and he got a toe to the ball which diverted it to Stewart, who fed it through into the path of Gooch's run and with Foderingham advancing to the edge of his box Gooch chipped his finish over the keeper and it dropped into the empty net. That goal gave Sunderland - and the travelling fans - fresh belief, and all of a sudden it was the Blades who began to look edgy as Matete saw a shot blocked.
But the hosts made some personnel changes of their own and that settled them down a little. And Berge almost killed the game off 20 minutes from time when his shot took a big deflection off Wright to loop over Patterson, but it came back off the left-hand post and was headed behind for a corner.
Late in the game, Patterson made a series of excellent saves to keep Sunderland in the match, turning a swerving effort from Norwood round the post, then getting down quickly to his right to save from sub Ollie McBurnie, and then from the resulting corner saving from Egan.
How they lined up
Sheffield United: Foderingham, Ahmedhodzic, Egan, Norrington-Davies, Baldock, Berge, Norwood, McAtee (Fleck 65), Lowe, Ndiaye (McBurnie 74), Brewster (Khadra 65). Subs not used: Amissah, Basham, Doyle, Jebbison
Booked: McBurnie
Sunderland: Patterson, O'Nien, Batth, Cirkin, Gooch, Neil, Embleton (Hume 54), Clarke, Pritchard (Wright 54), Simms (Matete 54), Stewart. Subs not used: Bass, Roberts, Diamond, Alese
Booked: O'Nien, Gooch, Matete, Wright
Sent off: Neil
Referee: James Linington (Newport)
Attendance: 28,597
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