Aden winner after Fleck’s red
CAIRNEY: IT’S TIME TO CLIMB
ADEN FLINT struck a 90th-minute winner to keep Bristol City on course for an unlikely Premier League push against 10-man Blades.
The big defender lashed in an unstoppable shot after Bobby Reid had won the ball in midfield and launched a hopeful, late long ball forward.
It had looked as if Leon Clarke had earned a point for the Blades as he blasted in his 10th goal in the last six games.
Clarke was on hand to send an unstoppable shot past Frank Fielding from John Lundstram’s 48th-minute pass.
That cancelled out an opener from Jamie Paterson, although United were left facing an uphill battle when John Fleck was shown a straight red just before the hour for a horror two-footed tackle on Korey Smith.
The Robins had struck on the counter-attack in devastating fashion to take the lead two minutes before the break.
Diving
Smith won the ball on the right and pushed it along the line to Josh Brownhill, who switched the ball inside.
Paterson received the pass and unleashed a curling 20-yarder that flew past the diving Simon Moore and into the Blades net. Incredibly, Sheffield had hit the woodwork three times in a frustrating first half which should have seen them wrap up the three points.
On 20 minutes, Mark Duffy’s brilliant free-kick, from wide on the right, curled around the wall but hit the right-hand upright.
And Billy Sharp suffered a similar fate after 36 minutes when he collected Clarke’s lay-off and saw his thunderbolt clip the bar.
The veteran striker hit almost the same spot of woodwork just two minutes later when he stooped to meet Fleck’s corner and headed against the bar.
Amazingly, after the Blades levelled, they were denied by the woodwork for a fourth time, as another great Duffy strike hit the left-hand post and Sharp’s follow-up was blocked by Flint. ®Êby DARREN WITCOOP