Last night the Blades faced Barnsley at Oakwell were the two teams shared a 2-2 draw, but from a Blades fans point of view it was a less than convincing performance. The scores were locked level at 0-0 at the break with United making two forced changes in the form of Matthew Kilgallon (for Derek Geary) and Ian Bennett (for Mark Bunn).
But it was the Tykes who found the back of the net first, Franca Anderson Silva (53 minutes) firing home from the edge of the area in a crowded box, but straight from the kick-off Keith Treacy weaved around the back four before slamming his shot against the post.
On 61 minutes United were handed a lifeline when Ched Evans was judged to have been tripped in the box by keeper Luke Steele; up stepped Darius Henderson who hammered the ball home - but Daniel Bogdanovic (74) was left unmarked to hand Barnsley a 2-1 lead.
But it was deja vu for the Colliers as another penalty was awarded; Adam Hammill this time the culprit when he needlessly tripped Kyle Walker - Henderson again finishing off the spot kick. It was the former Watford strikers seventh goal of the season, and his fourth goal in the previous three outings.
Blades boss Kevin Blackwell told BBC Radio Sheffield; "I'm proud of the lads, but another game and two more injuries, you can see we are chasing round having put square pegs in round holes. My biggest praise is for Derek Geary who's been out for 18 months, knee rebuilt and I've had to put him in."
Meanwhile Barnsley boss Mark Robins was largely disappointed with the overall result; "To only draw a game like that after we've played so well is difficult to take, we played really well. We passed the ball well and controlled the game for large parts. It was a good game, a decent derby game. They've had a couple of chances, they've hit the woodwork, but they've been given the two penalties."
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