Blackwell sees light ahead in Blades’ promotion surge

Reading 0 Sheffield United 1

They are the Championship team with momentum and this morning they sit proudly in the second automatic promotion spot for the first time since the start of the season.

Sheffield United may only occupy this position for a few hours pending Birmingham's visit to Charlton today but five straight league wins by Kevin Blackwell's side represents fearsome form two years after they exited the top flight amid the Carlos Tevez affair. "The Blades are going up," roared the 1,500 Sheffield fans after this most valuable of victories secured early in the second half by Brian Howard virtually to extinguish Reading's own hopes of automatic promotion.

The game burst into life straight after the restart as Reading had two penalty appeals turned down. As they seemed to be taking the ascendancy, Dave Kitson headed against the bar but in the very next move the visitors surged down the other end and took the lead. Matthew Kilgallon headed Jamie Ward's cross against the bar and Howard fired the loose ball through a ruck of players.

"We want to go up, simple as that," Blackwell said. "We had to dig deep today and the players showed every characteristic you could ask as a manager. Ideally, I'd have liked to go second on the last day of the season but every point now is so big."

Reading (4-4-2): Hahnemann; Kelly, Bikey, Duberry, Armstrong; Cissé (Tabb, 43) Kebe (Little, 69), Matejovsky (N Hunt, 78), S Hunt; Doyle, Kitson. Substitutes not used: Federici (gk), Long, Little.

Sheffield United (4-1-3-2): Kenny; Naughton, Morgan, Kilgallon, Naysmith; Montgomery; Halford, O'Toole (Beattie, 55), Howard (Bromby, 90); Henderson, Ward (Cotterill, 82). Substitutes not used: Lupoli, Hendrie.

Referee: K Friend (Leicestershire).