John Carver was placed in temporary charge at Bramall Lane following the departure of Gary Speed at the beginning of the week and for the former Newcastle United and Plymouth Argyle coach it was a great start to what could be a short reign.
It was an organised performance by the home side that brought third placed Swansea to their knees, and much can be credited to a strong defence who kept the opposition at bay.
United lined up with a similar 4-5-1 formation which has been rolled out in the previous fixtures; this was largely due to the absence of attackers with injuries and suspensions to many. They were however boosted by the presence of Jamie Ward on the substitute’s bench.
Midfielder Lee Williamson also boosted the sub’s bench; the former Rotherham United man has been out of action through injury since February and was a welcome addition to the team.
Traditionally the last home game before Christmas is regularly a low attendance, mostly due to the last minute shopping and freezing minus five (-5) temperatures which must have pressure on players in difficult conditions.
A crowed of around 17,500 was registered, most likely the Blades worst home attendance in the previous five seasons, though the visitors had a particularly low turnout due to their supporters coaches been turned round at Birmingham due to adverse weather conditions which has hit the Midlands.
United started the match brightly and had the net bursting early on as little as the 10th minute when Stephen Quinn burst through on sight of goal to fire past de Vries in the Swansea net – but was denied by an offside flag.
Despite a no-goal it was an influential point in the game and seemingly spurred the home faithful on, Andy Reid went close with a deflected free-kick.
At the other end City looked for inspiration via Scott Sinclair but him rarely threatened Steve Simonsen’s goal.
Then, in a moment of pure class the Blades hit Swansea on the break and found the winner; Reid chipped the ball over the City defence with Ched Evans chasing, he broke through one on one with the keeper and beat de Vries at the angle; 1-0.
City made changes at half-time, giving Jermaine Easter his Swansea City debut and the MK Dons loan man worked well with ex-Blade Nathan Dyer before firing across goal with Kyle Bartley clearing to safety.
Sinclair then fired at shot straight at Simonsen and Darren Pratley headed wide. City dominated possession in the second half but it was the hosts who almost doubled their lead when Evans was narrowly denied by de Vries.
The win will be aesthetically pleasing for the Blades, the victory kept them above the relegation zone and with defeats to Middlesbrough (2-1 at Doncaster Rovers) and Crystal Palace (0-3 at Nottingham Forest) with Scunthorpe United and Preston North End seeing their games postponed meant that United were the only team around the bottom five sides to win.
Also, in League One the fans of Sheffield Wednesday will have had a long way home – particularly the fan who travelled 18 hours to Exeter City only to see their ‘massive’ Owls side take a humiliating 5-1 thrashing; priceless!