Sheffield United have extended their unbeaten start to the Championship campaign to six games, and are now on a three-game winning streak with three clean sheets, after a 1-0 win over Derby County at Bramall Lane.
An excellent free-kick on the right side of the edge of the box flew into the top right corner from Gustavo Hamer early in the second half, which was enough to seal the victory on Saturday afternoon.
Oliver Arblaster missed the game due to injury, so Sydie Peck earned his first Championship start in the heart of midfield with the step-in captain Vinicius Souza.
For the visitors, former Blades Ben Osborn and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing started for the Rams.
Lineups
Blades: Cooper, Gilchrist (Seriki 67), Souttar, Hamer (McCallum 90), Moore (Norrington-Davies 90), O’Hare (Brewster 77), Rak-Sakyi (Brooks 67) Burrows, Ahmedhodzic, Souza, Peck.
Unused: A. Davies, Shackleton, Campbell, Marsh.
Derby: Widell Zetterstrom, Cashin, Osborn (Harness 67), Yates, Mendez-Laing (Brown 77), Goudmijn (Ward 82), Jackson, Elder (Blackett-Taylor 81), Nyambe (Phillips 77), Adams, Nelson.
Unused: Vickers, Forsyth, Bradley, Collins.
First half
Derby County almost surprised the entire stadium when they came close to score inside the opening 40 seconds of the match, but thanks to Souttar the danger was snuffed out.
The Blades posed a threat themselves early in the game when Rak-Sakyi was denied only by the foot of the Derby goalkeeper.
Gustavo Hamer started to get more involved in the play as the first half went on. His first opportunity came from a header which was comfortably saved by Widell Zetterstrom. His second chance came from about 25 yards out, forcing the visiting shot-stopper to scramble down to his left-hand side and push a low skipping shot out of play for a corner.
Meanwhile, the Rams almost broke the deadlock through former Blade Nathaniel Mendez-Laing as his shot smacked the outside of the post from a tight angle.
Second half
A bright start to the second half saw United win a free-kick on the right side of the edge of the penalty area. With 53 minutes on the clock, Gustavo Hamer and Harrison Burrows stood over the ball, and although the angle seemed to favour the left-footed Burrows, it was Hamer who stepped up and whipped the ball straight into the top right corner.
Sheffield United’s number eight paid a heartwarming tribute to the former Sheffield United women’s number eight Maddy Cusack during the celebration.
Widell Zetterstrom was there once again to deny the Blades, this time stopping an Alfie Gilchrist strike. Chris Wilder looked to the bench to bring on some more pace and power down the right side with Femi Seriki and Andre Brooks coming on, and the pair made a big impact in the final 25 minutes.
In the 98th minute, Sydie Peck was denied his first ever Championship goal as Widell Zetterstrom stopped the midfielder’s effort which was heading straight into the top right corner.