Sheffield United hero opens up on key moment v Sunderland after "horrendous" feeling and six-point admission

After a breathless game of football between two Premier League promotion contenders that saw two red cards, a saved penalty and then a late, dramatic winner, Michael Cooper summed up Sheffield United v Sunderland as perfectly as he has guarded the Blades’ net since becoming a Blade earlier this summer. “Crackers, really,” the goalkeeper said. “I think the spectators got their money’s worth.”

As, in bringing him to Bramall Lane, have United. The 1-0 victory, courtesy of Tom Davies’ 83rd-minute winner, extended United’s winning run on home soil to eight games and Cooper’s first-half penalty save, diving low to his left to push Patrick Roberts’ spot-kick around the post, preserved his remarkable seven-game clean sheet record in South Yorkshire.

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Sunderland’s Anthony Patterson is the latest goalkeeper to have conceded more goals in S2 this season than Cooper, who is fast becoming a real fan favourite amongst Unitedites and is a popular figure amongst teammates and club staff as well. On his big moment against Patterson, with all eyes on him after Jack Robinson had fouled the impressive Tom Watson, Cooper said: “It was a little bit of research but I think you have to have a big slice of luck as well.

“I was just hoping he went the same way and that I could get a hand on it. With the one at Bristol City, I went the right way and couldn’t save it, which I was a bit disappointed about. So this time to go the right way and get a hand on it to keep it out, was brilliant. Once you get it done, it feels great. But as soon as you see the ref blow to give the penalty, then it’s a horrendous feeling.”

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Cooper was already seen as one of the best young goalkeepers in the EFL but his performances since making the switch to Bramall Lane, as a replacement for Ivo Grbic, have only cemented his reputation further. The three points saw United go clear at the top of the Championship table and when asked if the three points over a promotion rival felt extra significant, Cooper admitted: “Yeah, I think it does.

“The reaction to Saturday [earning a point at Coventry City with 10 men] and the way we dealt with Oxford on Tuesday night and then coming into this one, we already had a bit of confidence. Not arrogance, though, because we know how good Sunderland are. But to beat them, who are also at the top of the table ... it’s almost a six-pointer, really.”