Sheffield United 1 Birmingham City 1: Blues prove the party-poopers again as Blades are pegged back

Unbeaten in their previous four appearances at Bramall Lane, Blues added another to their collection against frontrunners chasing their fifth straight win and clean sheet.

After ripping up the script on their previous trip to S2 on the first day of last season, the Midlanders provided an encore.

So impregnable at home, it looked like Oli McBurnie’s majestic fifth goal in six games had broken the Blues on 64 minutes.

An Oli Norwood free-kick was not cleared and while Auston Trusty and Emmanuel Longelo dithered, McBurnie, in the mood he is in, is not one to wait around and he blasted home a brilliant strike.

He left the field to applause soon after and Billy Sharp was a more than handy replacement. But it was another old stager who took the cue.

Troy Deeney proved he is still around, netting his first goal since December after a cross from the game’s best player in Tahith Chong was deflected into his path. He made no mistake from close in.

Sharp would have his chance late on, but John Ruddy saved the day with Blues’ second-half endeavours worthy of a point.

In the first game after the international breaks, sides are often not quite at full pelt. Here was a case in point for the Blades, who were decent as opposed to dazzling.

They had the lions’ share of the play in the first half and had some half-opportunities and intermittent moments. But their quality players did not come to the party, while Blues shape and discipline at the back was in order from their perspective.

Two players brought into the side in Tommy Doyle and Reda Khedra threatened to provide a breakthrough from the left.

Khadra cut inside early on and his cross was a wicked one and it was almost diverted into his own net by Trusty.

Doyle clipped the bar with a lofted free-kick, while other dangerous moments saw Sander Berge see a drilled low shot fly inches past the far post and Dion

Sanderson do well to block George Baldock’s goalbound effort after Blues were opened up at the back momentarily.

In an attacking sense, Blues were happy to wait for the counter and it almost brought them a shock lead on 19 minutes.

Juninho Bacuna, Chong and debutant Longelo combined neatly and it was Chong who were presented with a succulent sight of goal from 15 yards out, but John Egan saved the day with a brilliant block.

The first chance of the second half saw Ndiaye head off target in front of the Kop before tempers started to get a bit heated after McBurnie tussled with Bielik, the prelude to a bout of pushing and shoving.

A Blades warning arrived from the resultant free-kick in centre field when Deeney almost turned the ball in from close range after ex-United loanee Scott Hogan won a header, while Wes Foderingham gathered a deflected low shot from

Ndiaye saw another header fly off beam, before McBurnie showed him the way emphatically with the most clinical and deadly of drives to break Blues’ resistance and change their game plan.

But Denney was still about, unfortunately.