28th October Manager Neil Warnock criticised referee Martin Atkinson's decision-making following his side's 2-0 defeat to Chelsea on Saturday. Atkinson awarded Blades a penalty in the 17th minute, but Danny Webber's spot-kick was saved by Chelsea stopper Hilario. The miss proved crucial as Jose Mourinho's side went on to win the game through a Frank Lampard free-kick and a Michael Ballack header in the second-half. And Warnock was annoyed with the referee for awarding Chelsea a free-kick instead of playing advantage when Mikele Leigertwood brought down Lampard - a decision which resulted in the opening goal. He told Sky Sports' Prem Plus: "Goals change games and it really would have been nice for once to put a penalty away and put a bit of pressure on them, take the lead and see how they reacted. "Unfortunately it was not to be and a goalkeeping error resulted in the first goal. "I don't understand the advantage rule. It seems to be one rule for one and one for the other. "I'm disappointed with the result but it augurs well. I think we've got a fighting chance (of staying up)."

28th October Sheffield United 0 Chelsea 2 (Attendance: 32,321)

Blades Line-up: Kenny, Bromby (Kozluk 64), Davis, Jagielka, Hulse, Webber, Quinn, Tonge (Montgomery 7) Gillespie (Kabba 67), Armstrong, Leigertwood.

Subs not used: Morgan, Nade.

Booked: Leigertwood 42, Montgomery 60.

Man of the Match: Alan Quinn.

Chelsea Line-up: Hilario, Ferreira, Terry, Carvalho, Bridge, Essien, Ballack, Lampard, Cole (Wright-Phillips 67), Drogba (Kalou 46), Robben (Makelele 83).
Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Boulahrouz.

Scorers: Lampard 43, Ballack 49.

A missed Sheffield United penalty was the turning point in this exciting encounter at Bramall Lane, as Chelsea grabbed the points with a 2-0 victory with goals from Frank Lampard and Michael Ballack. Lampard's long-range 43rd-minute free-kick caught out Blades keeper Paddy Kenny to give the Londoners the lead, then his cross enabled Ballack to head home the second five minutes after the break. But the scoreline did scant justice to the performance of Neil Warnock's men, who matched the Premiership Champions for half the match. The Blades enjoyed swathes of first half possession and restricted Chelsea to half-chances prior to Lampard's opener. Had Danny Webber not let the pressure of a packed Bramall Lane crowd get the better of him as he delivered a telegraphed spot-kick to Henrique Hilario’s left, it might have been a different afternoon entirely for Jose Mourinho's men. Early on, Michel Tonge was forced off with a twisted ankle after a challenge with Joe Cole. Nick Montgomery replaced the Blades midfielder. Keith Gillespie then crossed and Quinn was clearly fouled by Ricardo Carvalho, but to the dismay of Warnock and the Shoreham Kop the referee waved play on. Montgomery and Alan Quinn had both got forward with plenty of purpose before Didier Drogba was forced back to desperately clear Quinn's 16th-minute cross off the toes of Davis on the edge of the 6 yard box. One minute later Drogba and Davis tangled again and referee Martin Atkinson pointed to the spot, only for Webber to miss in from of the Kop with a poorly taken effort. It looked likely the Blades would pay for spurning their chance but they responded in positive fashion with the deafening Lane crowd right behind them. Quinn then shot just over the bar and Rob Hulse edged out by John Terry chasing a Webber cross. Chelsea's best early attempt had come from a penalty appeal of their own, when Paulo Ferreira cut into the box and fell theatrically under the challenge of Davis. Davis was also on hand to block an Arjen Robben cross, and Ballack had a half-chance squeezed around his own post by Chris Armstrong, before Lampard began to make his match-winning contribution. The England midfielder saw a point-blank header brilliantly saved by Kenny - but one minute later counted his luck from a long free-kick which bounced horribly over Kenny into the net. Drogba was replaced by Salomon Kalou at the interval, and straight after the restart Chelsea’s grabbed the crucial second in the 50th minute when Lampard found space on the left and crossed for Ballack to head home from point-blank range. After 54 minutes, Kalou sent Robben clear but Kenny came to the Blades rescue with a brave save at his feet. Gillespie tried to bring the Blades back into it with a fizzing effort which flashed inches over the bar, only for referee Atkinson to change his mind and blow for an earlier free-kick infringement. That momentary controversy galvanised United again, with the Kop roaring the Blades on; tackles began to fly in and Montgomery was booked for allegedly fouling Kalou on Chelsea's left wing. Ballack came close to grabbing his second with a 65th minute volley from 8 yards which flashed inches over Kenny's bar. United continued to have their moments, mostly through the impressive Quinn on the left, and his fine 72nd minute cross fell to Hulse who headed over in front of goal. It was always going to be tough today, but the most alarming feature of the day for Blades fans was not the defeat – but yet another spurned penalty.

27th October United say the row between Ade Akinbiyi and Claude Davis has been resolved after investigating the alleged flare-up between the pair. A newspaper report claimed Davis approached Akinbiyi while holding a razor as an argument following the defender's sending off against Everton last week escalated. "There was a lot of argy-bargy, but that was about it," Akinbiyi said. "There was a row lasting about two minutes in the changing room, but I'm not saying if he did or didn't pull out a razor." The club have issued a statement confirming a "difference of opinion" between the pair but insisting no razor or knife was involved. "Following the allegations in a national newspaper concerning an alleged flare-up between Claude Davis and Ade Akinbiyi, Sheffield United has concluded its investigation. "The two players did have a difference of opinion, the sort of which occurs often in dressing-rooms throughout the land. "Contrary to reports, no razors or knives were involved, the pair have shaken hands and the disagreement has been resolved."

24th October Sheffield United 2 Birmingham City 4 (Attendance: 10,584)

Blades Line-up: Bennett, Sommeil, Morgan, Short, Unsworth, Ifill, Montgomery, Law , Webber (Geary 75), Akinbiyi (Nade 66), Kabba.
Subs Not Used: Kozluk, Lucketti, Tie.

Booked: Kabba.

Scorers: Akinbiyi 21, Montgomery 85

Man of the Match: Nick Montgomery.

Birmingham Line-up: Doyle, Kelly, Martin Taylor, Jaidi, Sadler, Larsson, Danns, Muamba, Gray, Campbell (Bendtner 58), Jerome (Kilkenny 82).
Subs Not Used: Maik Taylor, Painter, McSheffrey.

Booked: Jaidi, Gray.

Scorers: Campbell 41, Bendtner 70, Jerome 79, Larsson 90.

Neil Warnock made 11 changes to the team beaten by Everton in the Premiership on Saturday, but they had looked a good bet for victory after Ade Akinbiyi's 21st-minute opener. However, DJ Campbell fired an equaliser four minutes before the break and the Blades put in an awful second half showing to crash out of the competition. Danny Webber tested visiting keeper Colin Doyle with a good low shot early on and youngster Nicky Law almost capped his second appearance with a goal in the 19th minute when his free-kick was flapped away. But it was Akinbiyi who broke the deadlock with his first goal since February when Webber crossed from the right and the big striker scooped his shot over Doyle to give the home side the lead. Birmingham had their own chances in an open game with Campbell catching Craig Short in possession in the 32nd minute before finding Jerome who shot straight at Ian Bennett in goal. Immediately at the other end Paul Ifill was played in by Akinbiyi but elected to turn and shoot wide rather than pass to Steven Kabba, who was racing unmarked into the box. But Birmingham equalised out of nowhere in the 41st minute when Blades captain Chris Morgan hammered an attempted clearance straight at Campbell and the ball squirmed up and over Bennett. Law came close to putting the Blades back in front just after the break with a rising right-foot effort while David Unsworth let fly with a left-foot effort which was tipped over the bar. Two minutes later Julian Gray played in Campbell at the other end but Bennett got a hand to his low shot and managed to divert it onto the base of the post. Immediately the Blades counter-attacked and Akinbiyi roared free down the right flank but under pressure from Blues defender Mathew Sadler the front man fired his eventual shot high and wide. Substitute Christian Nade almost made an immediate impression in the 68th minute when he wriggled through the Blues defence and shot inches wide of Doyle's right-hand post. But it would be another substitute in Bendtner - a 58th-minute replacement for Campbell - who turned the game by springing the offside trap to put his side ahead in the 71st minute. It looked all over 12 minutes from time when Jerome came up with almost a carbon copy of his team-mate's effort, racing clear and rounding the advancing Bennett to put his side 3-1 up. There was still life in the Blades side who gave themselves hope in the 83rd minute when Nick Montgomery lashed home a low shot from 25 yards to reduce the deficit. But it was finally all over deep into injury time when Larsson nudged home the simplest of chances to give the travelling Blues fans a cause for celebration.

23rd October United defender Claude Davis will miss the League Cup tie with Birmingham City after losing an appeal against his weekend red card. Davis was dismissed in Saturday's Premiership match at Everton after bringing down striker Andrew Johnson. The Blades appealed to the Football Association on the grounds of wrongful dismissal, but their claim was rejected and Davis was instructed to serve a one-match ban with immediate effect.

21st October United boss Neil Warnock was unhappy with the performance of referee Dermot Gallagher during their 2-0 defeat at Everton. The Blades boss was particularly upset with Gallagher's decision to award The Toffees a penalty and send defender Claude Davis off for his foul in the box on Andy Johnson in the first half. "I thought it was a joke," Warnock blasted to Sky Sports News. "He couldn't wait to give it and I think he went to blow (his whistle) before the players went into the box. "If you look at it, it was negligible. Claude's quick, he got back there, but there's no contact there. "I just thought it epitomised Dermot's performance today, I thought he was very poor. For me, he looked like it was retirement time for him. "If you didn't dive or you didn't go down, you didn't get anything from Dermot today. The match was all played wrong. "I'm a big believer in experience (with referees), but not after today I'm not." Despite playing most of the Goodison Park contest with ten men, Warnock was full of praise for the effort his side made in defeat. "I thought the team were magnificent with ten men," he added. "You wouldn't have thought we'd had ten men during the first half or the second half. "We were a little bit unlucky, and it would have been nice to see us get one goal and see what the situation would have been, but it wasn't to be. "I can't fault the effort, the lads were superb. There were so many chances today. "When you come to a place like Goodison, you don't expect to create that many chances, but we have done. "At the back, we coped admirably. Andy Johnson didn't create anything against us today."

21st October Everton 2 Sheffield United 0 (Attendance: 37,900)

Blades Line-up: Kenny, Bromby, Davis, Jagielka, Hulse, A. Quinn (Morgan 33), Tonge, Gillespie (Kabba 63), Armstrong, Leigertwood, Kazim-Richards (Webber 56).

Subs not used: Kozluk, Nade.

Booked: Tonge 77.

Man of the Match: Rob Hulse.

Everton Line-up: Howard, Yobo, Weir, Arteta, Johnson, Beattie (McFadden 56), Davies, Lescott, Cahill (Osman 56), Neville (Anichebe 77), Carsley
Subs Not Used: Turner, Boyle.

Scorers: Arteta 13, Beattie (pen) 33.

United went down to another defeat away from home, and again the Blades can feel aggrieved by more poor refereeing decisions which cost them the match. The Blades went in to the match with an unchanged team for the third successive Premiership encounter, with Claude Davis recovering from the knock he picked up at Eastland’s. Everton brought in James Beattie, while veteran David Weir made his first start of the season. Simon Davies pace twice threatened to the Blades early on; before Everton took a 13th-minute lead. Mikel Arteta found Davies who made progress across the middle of the park, before finding Neville on the right, and he fired over a cross despite being fouled by Leigh Bromby. The linesman flagged, but referee Dermot Gallagher waited just a few seconds to see where the move would end. With the ball flying in to the Blades six yard box; Arteta pushed Davis in the back and headed low into the corner of the goal. The referee was perfectly positioned to see the push – in-fact he must have had the best view in the ground. But, incredibly he allowed the goal to stand. After the re-start; Lescott found Beattie and he fired over. In the 33rd minute Davies and Arteta combined to send Johnson racing away, with Davis in pursuit. The stand-in England forward who knows a thing or two about diving in the box, inevitably went down with Davis racing at his side - although there was only minimal contact. It seemed as though Johnson was looking for a chance to fall. But it was enough for Gallagher who instantly pointed to the spot and dismissed Davis with haste. Beattie blasted in the spot-kick past Blades goalkeeper Paddy Kenny to make it 2-0. United were now two goals down, yet they had matched their hosts throughout. Of course we all know it was the referee who had made the difference. And, no one wants to accuse the Officials of favouring the (big) established Premiership teams. But it makes you wonder whether if the incidents had been the other way around; whether the referee would have given the free kick for the push, and whether he would have given the penalty! The Blades who had been playing a cautious 4-1-4-1 formation from the start, immediately sent on defender Chris Morgan to fill the gap left by Davis - front man Alan Quinn being sacrificed. United to their credit keep pressing. First, Morgan headed wide from a Michael Tonge free-kick. Then, Colin Kazim-Richards deflected a Rob Hulse header goalwards, with goalkeeper Tim Howard making an instinctive block to keep out the effort. A minute later Hulse got away on the left and pulled an effort across goal and inches wide of the far post. But there was still time for Davies to set up Johnson, who drilled a shot against the woodwork. The Blades started the second period with commendable spirit, and should have scored when Tim Cahill's misplaced pass allowed Chris Armstrong to send Leigertwood clear, but his fierce cross-shot flashed inches wide of the far post. Everton sent on James McFadden and Leon Osman for Beattie and Tim Cahill respectively, with the Blades responding by taking off Kazim-Richards and sending on Danny Webber. Six minutes later Steven Kabba replaced Keith Gillespie as the Blades three forwards kept Everton's defenders occupied. Osman wasted a good opening when Neville's pass put him clear, but Everton were being asked to defend and Hulse, who was a constant threat all afternoon - rose to head just over from a free-kick. Michael Tonge was booked for a foul on Arteta, while a minute later Everton sent on Victor Anichebe for Neville, Davies reverting to right-back. There had been very little to trouble goalkeeper Kenny in the second half, and when McFadden's 18-yard effort sailed wide with after 80 minutes, Everton were no nearer their third goal. United were now making the Toffees look decidedly ordinary. Kabba found Leigh Bromby who appeared to be tripped in the Everton penalty area just before he before he poked the ball across the Everton box for Webber and his close range effort cannon back off Howard's shins. Bromby to his credit - had not dived like Johnson. He should have nonetheless had a penalty, even though he had stay on his feet, but the referee as you might expect chose to ignore it! Anichebe could have found the net with a 60-yard run on the right flank, but shot over, before flashing another effort wide. The last action of the match and Everton’s first scoring chance of the second half came in the 88th minute; McFadden's header producing a superb save by Kenny. At the end it was another defeat away from home. But Unitedites won’t be too disappointed by this Blades performance. With the Blades fans outsinging their counterparts, and their team outplaying Everton for the majority of the encounter. United were just beaten by another dire refereeing performance.

20th October Centre-back Claude Davis faces a late fitness test ahead of Saturday's trip to Goodison Park to face Everton. Davis missed six weeks of the season with a knee injury and came off after last week's goalless draw at Manchester City complaining of soreness so has been taking it easy in training. Rob Hulse, Michael Tonge and Chris Armstrong all complained of aches and pains this week but none are considered serious and boss Neil Warnock will hope to name an unchanged side.

19th October Keith Gillespie is confident United can survive in the Premiership after admitting there is increased optimism at Bramall Lane. The Blades finally broke their Premiership duck with a 2-1 victory home to Middlesbrough on September 30 and followed that up with a goalless draw at Manchester City. The Blades are currently 16th but are only six points away from the top half of the table and Gillespie believes United are more than confident of holding their own. "The win at Middlesbrough was very important as it got us up and running and we took that into the Man City game and got a good point there," he said. "That first win was proving elusive and until we got that people were always talking about when we were going to get it. "We were then able to relax and we have got ourselves out of the bottom three and we aim to stay there now. "I think the manager has instilled belief in us. We have quite a few players who have played in the Premiership before but some players haven't and it is obviously a big step but they have proved they can do it. "We have got a good squad now and we have to believe we are good enough for this division." "Last year in the Championship it was a Premiership club in everything but status," he said. "Now we have got that [status] it is important to stay there as Sheffield United need to be in the Premiership to keep going. "It is a big step up from the Championship because you are to be playing against world-class players. "I believe it is the best league in the world and everyone wants to be playing against the Thierry Henrys of the world." Gillespie is in the squad for Saturday's trip to Everton and expects a test. "Everton have started the season very well so we know it is going to be hard. From past experience Goodison is always a difficult place to go but we have a little run going at the minute. "They have some dangerous players we need to keep an eye on but I think everyone feels pretty confident at moment with the way things are going."

18th October Blades boss Neil Warnock says that he is eager to strengthen his squad in the January transfer window. The Blades boss keen on adding several players to his squad when the transfer window swings open for business on 1st January. He said: "I'm looking towards the transfer window to see where I can improve the squad. We want to bring in three, four, maybe five players to give us a lift in the second half of the season." Warnock pointed to United's early season injury problems as a reason why more bodies are needed to add strength in depth to the squad. He added: "When we lost four centre-backs in three days earlier this season, it was factors beyond my control. The biggest problem was when we lost Danny Webber, Michael Tonge and Alan Quinn all at the same time because we had no creativity."

14th October Manchester City 0 Sheffield United 0 (Attendance: 42,192)

Blades Line-up: Kenny, Bromby, Davis, Jagielka, Armstrong, Gillespie, Tonge, Leigertwood, Alan Quinn, Hulse, Kazim-Richards (Webber 72).
Subs Not Used: Morgan, Kabba, Kozluk, Nade

Booked: Jagielka 87.

Man of the Match: Claude Davis.

Manchester City Line-up: Hart, Richards, Dunne, Distin, Jordan (Miller 45), Trabelsi, Barton, Hamann (Reyna 58), Sinclair, Samaras, Corradi (Dickov 70).
Subs Not Used: Schmeichel, Johnson.

United picked up a valuable point in a match where neither team seized their chances. It is true the Blades will be far the happier of the two sides with the point than City, but the worrying factor is the lack of goalscorers for United. The Blades went into the match unchanged from the side which beat Middlesbrough a fortnight ago. City had goalkeeper Joe Hart making his debut, in place of the injured Nicky Weaver. Hatem Trabelsi was making his home debut for City. Hart was the first keeper to be called into action after a quiet opening 20 minutes, where both sides struggled to take a grip on proceedings. Keith Gillespie curled in a free kick from the left, but City’s young keeper came a long way off his line to punch the ball clear. City had their first chance from a Joey Barton free kick three minutes later, Bernardo Corradi stabbing the ball over first-time from the edge of the six yard box. After 36 minutes, Dietmar Hamann lifted the ball over the Blades defence and into the path of Georgios Samaras. The Greek striker moved into the area and tried to slide the ball in from an angle, but his shot was blocked well by United goalkeeper Paddy Kenny. After 41 minutes, Alan Quinn tried to curl the ball in from 20 yards but Joe Hart was behind the Blades midfielder’s effort. A minute later. Leigh Bromby delivered a long throw and Claude Davis headed for Rob Hulse whose overhead kick from eight yards out agonisingly rebounded off the crossbar. Ishmael Miller replaced Stephen Jordan for City after the break, with Micah Richards moving to left back. Another long throw and City keeper Hart dropped the ball under pressure from Hulse and Davis, before Trabelsi and Sylvain Distin cleared the danger. After 50 minutes, Samaras broke free, but his shot was woefully wide of the post. The best chance of the game so far for City came with 58 minutes gone. Trabelsi burst down the right and crossed towards Corradi, but the Italian’s header went straight at Kenny, who parried the ball away. Samaras steamed onto the rebound but blazed the ball over the bar. Pressure from Corradi forced Kenny into dropping the ball from a Bromby back-header three minutes later, but Dunne’s attempt on the follow-up was again blocked. After 64 minutes, United had their best move of the match. Some neat passing from Quinn, Michael Tonge and Chris Armstrong ended with Quinn driving a first-time shot over Hart’s bar from near the City penalty spot. With 20 minutes remaining City manager Stuart Pearce used his final substitution, introducing Paul Dickov. Soon after, Neil Warnock made his first change, Danny Webber replacing Colin Kazim-Richards. City were awarded a fortunate free-kick after 73 minutes, after Davis was adjudged to have fouled Dickov and from Barton's free-kick on the right of the Blades box, Miller won the header but failed to keep his effort down. After 80 minutes, Hulse stormed past the City defence and passed towards Tonge, but Richards timed his challenge and the ball rolled back to Hart. With 3 minutes remaining, Richards headed wide from a Barton free kick. At the end United will be content with a 0-0 draw and are slowly moving up the table.

12th October United striker Rob Hulse is looking to build on the 2-1 victory over Middlesbrough when they play Manchester City on Saturday. United claimed a first victory of the season against Boro before the international break and Hulse is hoping that momentum will not be lost after two weeks without a game. Hulse scored the opener against Gareth Southgate's side before team-mate Phil Jagielka grabbed the deciding goal. "Hopefully we can keep winning," Hulse said. "Manchester City are a quality side. They have a lot of good players and, in Stuart Pearce, they have a good manager. "They're having a bad patch at the moment, but I'm sure they'll come through it - hopefully not on Saturday of course."

10th October Full-back Alan Wright has joined Championship side Leeds on loan for a month. Blades manager Neil Warnock said the move would give Wright the chance of valuable first-team match action. He commented: "There were one or two clubs interested in Alan and Leeds were one of those clubs. "It's a good opportunity for him to get games under his belt and it's only for a month."

9th October United goalkeeper Paddy Kenny is already a doubt for the Blades Premiership clash against Manchester City at Eastlands on Saturday. Kenny returned to Sheffield from international duty with the Republic of Ireland with a hamstring strain.It means the 28-year-old misses Wednesday night's Euro 2008 qualifier with the Czech Republic at Lansdowne Road in Dublin.Kenny sustained the injury following Saturday's galling 5-2 Group D defeat to Cyprus, with the Blades' number one now having shipped nine goals on his last two Irish appearances. Ireland manager Steve Staunton partly attributed the injury to the five-hour return flight to Dublin.

2nd October Phil Jagielka described his injury-time winner for United against Middlesbrough as 'one in a million'. Hoping to record a first win in The Premiership, it appeared the Blades would have to wait a little while longer until Jagielka's dramatic intervention from 30 yards. And the moment was all the sweeter for Jagielka as it earned the club a first win in the top flight for some 12 years and five months. "It was a huge goal for me, one in a million, but an even bigger one for the team," said Jagielka. Jagielka admits his side's poor form at the foot has been a worry, even though it is a little more than a handful of games into the new season. "It wasn't nice looking at the table, even so early in the season, and seeing us rooted at the foot," added the versatile star. "With the two-week break ahead it was important we got that first win, and the pressure is off us now. "I'm sure if we hadn't won it would have been in the papers about us still looking for that win." "But we've the three points which have been a long time in coming, and with hand on heart we're relieved to get them. You can see the smiles on our faces." "Hopefully now it's onwards and upwards, and we can push on from here."

2nd October Neil Warnock admits United's win over Middlesbrough means the Blades have "now got the monkey off our back". United looked destined for a third draw in seven matches after Yakubu had cancelled out Rob Hulse's 35th-minute opener after the interval. But with the clock ticking, United captain Phil Jagielka struck a 30-yard cracker in the first minute of injury time to give the Blades a 2-1 victory over Boro at Bramall Lane. And Warnock said: "We've now got the monkey off our back and for us the season now starts from here. "I cannot put into words just how big this win is - it's massive!" United should have been behind before Hulse struck with his third goal of the season as Yakubu and Middlesbrough captain Jonathan Woodgate both missed what can only be described as 'sitters'. "We made hard work of it, and had a little bit of fortune with those missed chances," added Warnock. "The team spirit shone through, with everybody in the trenches, although we shot ourselves in the foot by giving them a chance to lift themselves early in the second half. "But we got back on top, the crowd got behind us to produce a cup-tie atmosphere, and what a fabulous finish from 'Jags'. "He was due one. His other attempts on goal have been ending up in The Kop of late, but this one was good enough to win the game.

1st October Neil Warnock believes United's season is now "up and running" after they finally won their first Premiership match of the campaign. The Blades looked destined for a third drawer in seven matches after Yakubu had cancelled out Rob Hulse's 35th-minute opener shortly after the interval. But with the clock ticking, United captain Phil Jagielka struck a 30-yard cracker in the first minute of injury time to give the Blades a 2-1 victory over Middlesbrough at the Lane. And Warnock said: "I thought we deserved it. "We've now got the monkey off our back and for us the season now starts from here. "We said that yesterday after training. We said we wanted to get a win to get our season up and running, and that's exactly what we have done. "I cannot put into words just how big this win is - it's massive!" United should have been behind before Hulse struck with his third goal of the season as Yakubu and Middlesbrough captain Jonathan Woodgate both missed what can only be described as 'sitters'. "We made hard work of it, and had a little bit of fortune with those missed chances," added Warnock. "The team spirit shone through, with everybody in the trenches, although we shot ourselves in the foot by giving them a chance to lift themselves early in the second half. "But we got back on top, the crowd got behind us to produce a cup-tie atmosphere, and what a fabulous finish from 'Jags'. "He was due one. His other attempts on goal have been ending up in The Kop of late, but this one was good enough to win the game."