PHIL Parkinson swallowed his disappointment to praise City's performance after they were pegged back by Sheffield United in a derby thriller.

The Blades hit back from two down to grab a 2-2 draw at Valley Parade after James Meredith and Devante Cole had put the home side in control.

Parkinson said: “It was a very, very good display from us in the first half. We were outstanding and then got a great start to the second period.

"But you know in any game that the opposition will have a spell. Sheffield United have very good players and the key for us in that spell was that we stayed level.

"But in terms of the way we played, I can’t really fault the lads.

"We got everything we asked for and had a great balance. There was great control in the middle from Lee Evans and Gary Liddle, a real threat in behind from Devante and a great physicality about our performance."