Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder has hailed his “brave” players and highlighted the game’s turning point after his side snatched three points late on at Ashton Gate on Tuesday night.
Harrison Burrows’ 98th minute winner was the climax of a turbulent last ten minutes in which Bristol City conceded two goals and had a man sent off.
Liam Manning’s side went ahead in the 75th minute of the game in a tight affair when Sinclair Armstrong won a penalty which Anis Mehmeti converted.
However, the visitors responded 11 minutes later through a Ryan Oné header before Rob Dickie saw red in the fifth minute of stoppage time, Burrows’ strike following just three minutes later.
“It was a definite penalty and that might have been a case of poking the bear a little bit to get us going,” admitted Wilder after the game in BS3.
“After going one behind we began to show all our character and we started to play in those last 20 minutes.
“Why it’s taken that for us to play quickly with more drive, more intensity and more quality is beyond me.
“If I knew the answer maybe I wouldn’t be stood here.”
Despite a very even first 70 minutes or so, United probably had the best of the chances before the hosts’ opener when Gus Hamer stormed in behind and lashed a shot past Max O’Leary and off the post.
This came just after Nahki Wells poked a close-range shot just wide of the post up the other end.
City head coach Liam Manning believed that his men were marginally the better side over the course of the 90, but the promotion-challenging Blades showed their quality and composure to steal the game from under the Robins’ noses.
“I didn’t think it was a smash-and-grab,” stated the United boss. “It was a tight game against good opposition.
“The players deserve an enormous amount of credit. It’s got nothing to do with myself or the coaching staff.
“They put themselves in that hole with their decision-making and attention to detail they got themselves out of it.”
Mistakes cost the Reds on the night as O’Leary’s misdirected punch led to United’s equaliser and a loss of possession from Dickie meant he was forced to cynically bring down Callum O’Hare who was bearing down on the Robins’ goal.
Credit must be given to Wilder’s men as they did not let up in their search for a winner after equalising, continuing to put pressure on the City penalty area with balls in and remaining energetic in their press to force errors.
“You’ve seen a team that hangs on right to the end and once they had a player sent off we might have thought it’s just not our day,” the 57-year-old Blades manager said.
“But I thought the players were extremely brave. We flooded it and we were rewarded with a memorable winner and memorable scenes for he supporters.”