United overpower Wednesday in the Sheffield derby

Sheffield United 3 Sheffield Wednesday 1

Sheffield United again displayed their powers of resilience to stretch their unbeaten run to 15 games and move within three points of an automatic promotion place in the First Division.

When Alan Quinn gave Wednesday the lead at the start of the second half, Chris Turner's side appeared set for their first League success at Bramall Lane for 36 years and a fourth win in five League matches, which would have lifted them out of the bottom three for the first time since October.

But as they demonstrated in Worthington Cup ties against Leeds and Liverpool, United are a formidable outfit and two goals in four minutes turned the game around as they finally found a way past Kevin Pressman, who had kept his side in the match with a series of excellent first-half saves.

In the 61st minute, United's captain, Stuart McCall, won a ball he perhaps had no right to deep in the Owls' half, enabling Steve Kabba to stretch and beat Pressman with a right-foot shot from eight yards.

Just three minutes later, the Blades took the lead courtesy of a ferocious 20-yard right-foot volley from Michael Brown, the combative midfielder latching on to a defensive header on the edge of Wednesday area to give Pressman no chance.

The visitors began to wilt as Bramall Lane loudly celebrated and, in the 78th minute, the substitute Wayne Allison touched home from close range after a superb jinking run and cross from Kabba.

The two managers might be close friends but it was Neil Warnock who finished the night far happier as his side closed the gap on second-placed Leicester City. Wednesday's Turner could reflect that it might have been worse, Pressman denying Dean Windass twice and Kabba in a first-half dominated by United.

Sheffield United (4-4-2): Kenny; Jagielka, Murphy, Page, W Quinn; Brown, McCall (Montgomery, 87), Tonge, Ndlovu; Windass (Allison, 73), Kabba (Peschisolido, 79). Substitues not used: Mooney, de Vogt (gk).

Sheffield Wednesday (4-4-2): Pressman; Geary, Maddix, Monk, Westwood; Johnston, Powell, Robinson, A Quinn; Di Piedi (Knight, 73), Kuqi. Substitutes not used: Haslam, Green, Crane, Evans (gk).

Referee: R Styles (Waterlooville).