Prince Abdullah, 'stupid' McBurnie and Jack Lester's fury among Sheffield United moments missed

Sheffield United remain top of the table despite picking up just one point in the space of four days. The Blades are winless in their last two matches but are still the team to catch, which perhaps goes some way towards highlighting their strong start.

Last night's defeat, secured courtesy of Chris Willock's second half strike, also saw United's unbeaten home record brought to an end. It was only their second defeat at Bramall Lane under Paul Heckingbottom since his appointment in November.

Yet it could have been a different story had Sander Berge been awarded a penalty deep in added time, after having his shirt pulled inside the area.

It was not given, leading to plenty of frustration among the Blades bench. Here are the Sheffield United moments you may have missed during last night's 1-0 defeat.

Prince Abdullah in stands

The club's owner was at Bramall Lane for the first time since before the pandemic. The last time he took in a Sheffield United home match was the 1-0 win over West Ham in January 2020.

He is hoping Premier League football returns to S2 next season but it looks like he picked the wrong match to come and watch. United were below par and below their usual standards, particularly at Bramall Lane, and it just happens to be the first defeat here this season.

Sheffield United owner Prince Abdullah alongside CEO Stephen Bettis in the director's box (Image: Ben Early/News Images)

That said, he will have been impressed with what he's seen from his club this season, as United remained top at the final whistle. He used the visit as an opportunity to catch up with the club's hierarchy and he was joined by other members of United World. He went pitchside before kick-off with Stephen Bettis and then took his seat in the director's box.

Macca's pre-match instructions

Oliver Norwood revealed recently how the players have been benefiting from regular conversations with Stuart McCall. The Blades assistant has not only been a big influence on Heckingbottom but his experience and knowledge of the game continues to rub off on the players.

Although 31, Norwood admitted he is still learning from McCall and finds the time he spends with him on the training ground more than useful.

Stuart McCall, assistant manager of Sheffield United, talks to Sander Berge and Oli McBurnie (Image: Ben Early/News Images)

McCall regularly finds time to impart his wisdom on the players, and enjoys having a walk around the group, having little chats and leaving them with nuggets of information. And he had one such chat with Sander Berge and Oli McBurnie before kick-off, no doubt passing on some vital bits of information.

Norrington-Davies and Roberts square up

The game was not even 20 minutes old when the first flashpoint arrived. The Blades defender kicked the ball when QPR's on-loan Leeds forward Tyler Roberts had it at his feet as he lie on the floor right in front of the dugouts on halfway.

Roberts took exception, immediately jumping to his feet and grabbed hold of Norrington-Davies' shirt by the neck. The pair are actually team-mates at international level with Wales but Heckingbottom was quick to act and pull Norrington-Davies away.

Jayden Bogle was also on hand to support his team-mate and they were both called over for a talking to by referee James Linington, who appeared to have more to say to Roberts than Norrington-Davies.

Frustration at Dieng time wasting

It was clear to see one of QPR's tactics from very early on, as goalkeeper Seny Dieng was taking an age on goalkicks. Heckingbottom and Stuart McCall's arms were up in the air inside the first 10 minutes as they were calling on Linington to act and nip it in the bud.

They were far from happy on the touchline and constantly in the fourth official's ear. Action finally arrived in the 81st-minute, which Heckingbottom felt was too late.

Time wasting and referees allowing teams to slow the game down is a constant source of frustration on the United bench and it showed yesterday.

'Stupid' McBurnie

The in-form striker now looks set to miss Saturday's trip to Stoke City after picking up his fifth booking of the season after the final whistle.

It stemmed from the penalty appeal on Sander Berge right at the death when he raced out of the dugout, having been subbed on 64 minutes, and had plenty to say to the fourth official about the incident.

He was repeatedly told to sit down by Stephen Martin, who was speaking to the referee about it. The full-time whistle went seconds later and he was then shown a yellow card.

His manager described it as 'stupid'. Heckingbottom said afterwards: "That's frustrating and that's stupid. His last booking was for jumping into the crowd. That's not good enough."

Jack Lester's fury

The United coach was furious with the assistant referee for not helping his colleague in the middle on the Sander Berge penalty call. He set off down the touchline to vent his frustration and was way out of his technical area.

Fourth official Martin, having just dealt with McBurnie, had to go and get Lester to come back. Lester was far from happy. Linington appeared to want help with the decision, as he touched his earpiece and looked over to the official but nothing was given.

Sander Berge and Andre Dozzell involved in a late penalty call in the Championship encounter between Sheffield United and QPR at Bramall Lane (Image: Ben Early/News Images)

What the referee saw on penalty call

Paul Heckingbottom said he asked Linington for an explanation over the decision not to award a penalty to Berge for the shirt pull by Andre Dozzell. He said the referee informed him he thought both players were pulling each other's shirt.

Although the picture above confirms that, as Heckingbottom pointed out afterwards, Dozzell actually had two hands on Berge and held on before dragging him to the ground.

With Billy Sharp on the pitch at the time of the incident, you would have backed the striker to earn his side a point had the spot-kick been given.

To be fair to opposition manager Michael Beale, he had enough about him to admit it was a foul, when so many would have insisted otherwise.

He said: "I couldn't really see because Stuart and Paul were stood up in front of me. I'm not taking the hard yards out there, but the last 10 minutes there the benches were up.

"Young Andre [Dozzell] on Sander Berge where he's pulling his shirt? Yeah, listen if it's in the middle of the park it's a foul. What I would say to young Andre is that Sander is facing the stand, why would you want to do that? Just block it, your team-mates have gone to the well for you, why would you ruin it or potentially put it in the referee's hands?

"I would have to look at it back but listening to everyone around me, it's a foul outside the box isn't it?"