The Blades had a handful of chances to win the game, with visiting captain Lloyd Kelly hitting his own crossbar with a clearance before Morgan Gibbs-White was denied one-on-one by goalkeeper Mark Travers.
Then came the game’s flashpoint late on, when Gibbs-White was wiped out in the box by Nat Phillips. But somehow referee Dean Whitestone didn’t blow his whistle, and the game ended goalless.
The best chance of the game came in injury time when Filip Uremovic, who had earlier produced a stunning last-ditch tackle to stop Philip Billing, had the freedom of Bramall Lane to pick his spot right in front of goal, but somehow fired wide instead.
Here’s how we rated United’s players during the game…
9. Sander Berge 6.5
Carried the ball nicely at times in the first half but couldn't dominate the game in the way he has recently. Replaced by Hourihane in the second half Photo: Andrew Yates
10. Morgan Gibbs-White 7
Almost had United ahead on the verge of half-time when he exchanged passes with McBurnie and shot goalwards, but a strong hand from Travers kept it out. Was denied again by Travers in the second when he went through one-on-one and then had the most blatant penalty appeal you'll ever see turned down Photo: Zac Goodwin
11. Oli McBurnie 7
Linked up nicely with Gibbs-White at times and ran his blood to water for the cause Photo: Richard Seller
12. SUBS
Ben Osborn - Came on for Fleck Conor Hourihane - Replaced Berge Photo: Darren Staples