Sheffield United v Barnsley: Poya Asbaghi claims Reds would have been good value for victory after Blades defeat

The relegation-threatened Reds were impressive early on against their promotion-chasing neighbours at Bramall Lane, and Wes Foderingham had to be at his best to keep Matty Wolfe’s early chance out down to his right.

United took the lead against the run of play when Sander Berge converted Conor Hourihane’s cross from close range, and Morgan Gibbs-White added a second after taking the ball around Brad Collins.

Asbaghi’s side remain in the bottom three, but there were some encouraging signs ahead of their huge next game against fourth-bottom Reading.

Blades v Reds ratings: Gibbs-White star of the show again in derby day win

“Until the goal we played good,” Asbaghi said.

“In the first half we were the better team, if you ask me. We created chances and were the same team in the second half, still pushing them down.

“But it wasn’t until the free-kick and they took the lead, which isn’t good enough for us, that things changed.

“With the help of the home crowd their players gained confidence and ours lost confidence. That changed the game to a game we didn’t want, of course.

“We were playing at a level that meant we weren’t happy to draw here, and we said that at half-time. We were playing well enough to win.

“And sometimes you can only see the win and when you concede the goal you don’t know how to react. Conceding the goal shouldn’t have stopped us playing well. That was the part we didn’t achieve.”

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