City 0, Sheffield United 2

ONE striker was very much off the Valley Parade agenda of this Yorkshire derby – publicly at least.

Ched Evans may not have been anywhere near Saturday night's encounter with Sheffield United but his name was on everyone's lips.

Everyone, that is, except the two managers who met the expected post-match questions with the straightest of bats.

"Nope," was Nigel Clough's blunt response to a persistent reporter wondering if his team's focus had been affected by the controversy swirling around the freed Welshman.

Phil Parkinson, meanwhile, stressed that he had not heard any of the Evans chants that regularly rang out from the travelling support. He said: "That's a Sheffield United issue. I'll leave it to their club to answer that."

But both bosses were more than happy to discuss a centre forward who was in the thick of the battle.

James Hanson's long-awaited return could not conjure up the victory that would have taken City back into the play-off positions. Instead, another TV defeat left them 11th in League One – with that trip to leaders Bristol City looming large.

But the sight of the team's main weapon once again throwing himself around and offering a familiar target should lift spirits on and off the field – even amid the disappointment of a fourth Valley Parade loss in seven.

"The opposition manager looks at the team sheet and sees Hanson's name on there and knows he's going to cause problems," said Parkinson.

"I thought Hans was tremendous. His general athleticism and the way he led the line was excellent.

"He won a lot of good headers in dangerous areas. We just lacked that speed of thought to anticipate a bit quicker to get on the end of something.

"But I don't feel he could have done much more."

Clough admitted he feared the worst when centre half Jay McEveley was forced off early after his shoulder popped out. Teenager Harrison McGahey was thrown on in his place – and coped manfully with the physical duel.

Clough said: "Hanson is always a handful. He's a threat, not just himself but for what he brings to other players as well. He gets runners around him but generally I thought we dealt with him well."

What City lacked was an effective foil for Hanson's efforts. Aaron Mclean once more failed to deliver and the cat calls from the crowd grew with each miscontrol. He was hauled off before the hour mark.

The fact that it took 75 minutes to warm Mark Howard's hands in the United goal underlined that lack of punch.

But then 18-year-old McGahey showed his naivety with a needless shove on Jason Kennedy inches outside the box.

Alan Sheehan, whose very early free-kick just wide had been City's only effort of note up to that point, drilled in another hard and low.

The wall of red and white stripes disintegrated but Howard, despite seeing it late, managed to fling himself to the left to save superbly. Clough credited the block as the ultimate difference between the sides.

Not that Jordan Pickford was exactly over-employed between the City sticks. He could not be fingered for either of the goals.

The home side had begun quickly, clearly keen to get Barnsley out of the system, but Sheffield United gained the upper hand as the first half wore on.

The visitors fashioned some promising openings but neither Jose Baxter nor Jamie Murphy were able to cause Pickford any discomfort.

Christopher Routis sat in the holding role vacated by the suspended Gary Liddle and settled down well after an early booking. The Frenchman's later switch to right back when Stephen Darby was dismissed once again demonstrated that City have a talent on their hands.

Darby's yellow card just before the break was to have far more serious consequences. He could have no argument for an ugly lunge on Stefan Scougall that might have prompted some officials to take more extreme action.

As it was, referee Simon Hooper ended the skipper's game within a minute of the restart. The half was just eight seconds old when he instinctively stuck out a right arm as Murphy had the beating of him down the touchline.

There was not much contact but Blades players quickly swarmed round Hooper, who wasted little time in producing the cards.

It happened so soon that Parkinson was still making his way to the dugout and needed to ask goalkeeping coach Lee Butler what had happened. But having seen the replays afterwards, the City boss collared the official and accused him of lacking common sense.

An interval stalemate came as no surprise – Sheffield United have not scored in their last seven first halves; City have not led at home at the break since Good Friday.

A man down, the Bantams were up against it now. But it took a cracking strike to break their resolve after 66 minutes, left back Bob Harris sweeping home his first goal for exactly two years with the sweetest of first-time connections.

Sheffield United – and the Sky commentators – thought they should have had a penalty when Rory McArdle dropped Scougall with a WWE-style body slam but Hooper was unmoved. "I thought they were quite good at throwing themselves to the ground," was Parkinson's caustic verdict.

City, meanwhile, began to dig deep and Sheehan's blast raised the temperature. The crowd had been superb throughout but, sensing late fight in the ten men, they found another gear.

A back heel from Routis created space for Mark Yeates to pick out Kennedy right in front of goal but his header smacked the post when he should have scored.

Then Andrew Davies had a header from a corner blocked in front of the line.

After a rare off-day at Oakwell, City's defensive leader was back in road-block mode. It was cruel that his mistake should then lead to the game-settling second goal.

A freakish bobble lifted the ball over his foot as he went to control, leaving substitute Marc McNulty in the clear to score for the third time in four games.

Yeates clipped the bar but, once again, it was the visiting fans who were singing at the final whistle – and not just about the players who had done the job.

Attendance: 14,754