Sheffield United 3-0 Birmingham City: Blades ease to win over 10-man Blues

Chris Wilder had not hidden his displeasure at his side’s efforts in last week’s reverse at the Baggies, calling them “lacklustre”.

He made five alterations from that game and one of them, defender Bindon, made a near-instant impact when he headed over Ryan Allsop in the away goal after just five minutes.

Things got worse for the away side when former Blades loanee Doyle sprinted in to an ill-advised challenge with Hamer in front of the dugouts and took his man out to see red for the first time in his career.

Another miserable away day for Birmingham, who have now lost seven of their 11 games this season, was compounded when they got caught trying to play out from the back. Anderson attempted to play the ball back to Allsop but Hamer stole in and beat the keeper to it before lashing home.

With the result already threatening to get out of hand Chris Davies took booked winger Anderson off immediately for midfielder Marc Leonard to try and shore things up, although they still conceded a third.

The Blades are keen to tie striker Bamford up to a longer deal, with his current contract expiring next month, and the former Leeds man scored his third goal in seven appearances to add some deserved gloss to the scoreline, albeit he appeared to have been offside when Arblaster had the initial shot.