Derby County 0-1 Sheffield United: Ben Brereton Diaz's strike helps Blades keep pace with Leeds in title hunt

Ben Brereton Diaz's goal was enough to give promotion-chasing Sheffield United a narrow 1-0 win at Pride Park and increase the pressure on relegation-threatened Derby.

Victory keeps the Blades on the heels of leaders Leeds and leaves Derby in deep trouble at the other end of the Championship table.

This was their seventh-straight league defeat - the club's worst run since 2008 - and while they did not play badly, they crucially lacked creativity in the final third.

Kenzo Goudmijn and Matt Clarke both headed over from good positions but Michael Cooper was not seriously tested in the United goal.

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The visitors forced Derby into some early mistakes with Tom Cannon firing straight at Jacob Widell Zetterstrom from the edge of the box before Clarke had to be alert to stop Brereton Diaz's run into the box.

Derby gradually worked their way into the game and forced Michael Cooper into a smart save in the 21st minute when Goudmijn hit a first-time shot from 20 yards.

But the home side were caught on the break seven minutes later by Harry Clark's burst down the right and he picked out Rhian Brewster, who flashed a shot wide from 12 yards.

Derby had a couple of promising moments only for a poor final ball to let them down with Ebou Adams guilty of a wasteful pass when United were caught upfield on the stroke of half-time.

For their part, United would have expected to create more against a team in the relegation zone and they made up for that four minutes after the restart.

Cannon got in on the left and whipped in a low cross which Brereton Diaz turned in at the back post to score his first goal of his second loan spell with the Blades.

Derby had a good chance to level in the 56th minute but Goudmijn could not keep his header from 10 yards down.

Ben Osborn was the provider and the midfielder went close himself with a low shot from 12 yards that forced Cooper into a diving save.

The Rams were plugging away but needed more quality to really put their opponents under pressure in the closing stages.

United were looking relatively comfortable but with only a slender lead, could not afford to switch off and they almost did from a corner in the 85th minute, but Matt Clarke headed over.

That proved to be Derby's last chance and boos rang out at the final whistle as the pressure increased on head coach Paul Warne.

The managers

Derby's Paul Warne:

"I thought the lads gave everything which I'm really proud of.

"It's tough, there's no disputing it's tough and it does feel like you make one step forward and two steps back a bit.

"I actually think we're getting a lot out of this group but it does need help, it needs people to come back and it does need enhancement in this window if we are going to be competitive."

On the fans' reaction at the end: "My honest answer is it's pretty sad. I dedicate my life to the club but I also understand it and I think as long as its at me and not the players, that's fine.

"I was well aware the fans sang abuse at me but cheered the team on which I thank them for. You can't be a football manager and expect it any other way."

Sheffield United's Chris Wilder:

"From my point of view, it was a little bit disjointed in terms of the performance made by the commitment and press of the opposition.

"Our transition when we broke it up first half wasn't good and we needed to take more care of the ball.

"But when we did we found a couple of moments which is all you need and we found that great moment."

On Paul Warne: "What I will say is when you're a manager, you want to see your players play for the club, play for the manager and give it a right go and I thought all the Derby players did for Paul.

"Paul is a good guy and he deserves the support. It's not my gig but that's my view from externally.

"Obviously it's a difficult period for Derby and Paul. We've watched the games and they could quite easily have got a result against Sunderland, could have got a result in two or three other of their games as well.

"They could have got a result today because they gave everything for their manager.

"They've lost their best player and are looking to bring players in and they're incredibly stretched. If you look at their bench, it was pretty similar to ours in terms of when we were stretched."

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