Sheffield United boss reveals his big Burnley frustration after red card blow

Paul Heckingbottom admitted his frustration that Sheffield United could not have more of a go against Burnley at Turf Moor, after seeing his plans to combat the champions-elect ruined by having to play almost 80 minutes with 10 men.

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Wes Foderingham’s 17th-minute red card changed the dynamic of the game completely, with United forced to try and stay in the game rather than make any real moves to win it. They held out until the hour mark, when Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson broke the deadlock, before the Icelandic substitute took advantage of an error from substitute goalkeeper Adam Davies to add a second and effectively end the game as a contest.

Burnley can now win the title this weekend if results go their way and Heckingbottom, whose side won the corresponding fixture 5- at Bramall Lane, was left ruing what could have been.

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“Fair play to Burnley, they won the game and their fans will go home happy,” he said. “But I think everyone came here excited for a good game, I know I did, and the players did.

“The sense of disappointment in our dressing room is that we couldn’t put in a performance. We know why we’ve lost it; we made a mistake and compounded it with an error in committing the foul and the red card which changed the game. I know why we’ve lost.

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“But my overriding feeling is disappointment, that we couldn’t come here and do what we wanted to do.”

On the red card incident, which saw Foderingham take down Nathan Tella just outside the box after a mix-up with Jack Robinson, Heckingbottom added: “If he’d been in the box, the ref would have given a penalty and a yellow.

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“But it was outside the box. It looked like Tella was away so if that’s the case, then it’s a red card.”

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