BARNSLEY 0
SHEFFIELD UNITED 1 (Nade 80)

BARNSLEY'S reserves battled hard but had little bite in the final third as Sheffield United took the points from tonight's season opener at Oakwell.

A very youthful Barnsley side were almost undone just two minutes after the kick off when Christian Nade used all his experience to ghost into the area before smashing the ball a yard over the top.

At the other end Luke Fedorenko had Paul Gerrard scrambling four minutes later as he let fly from distance but his effort dipped wide of the mark.

United were in again on 12 minutes as a lob over the top sent Dean Oliver clean through but Kyle Letheren stood up well and made a brave stop. The Blades really should have been in front just two minutes later as Kyle Naughton raced on the overlap before picking out Martin Donnolly in the area but the young midfielder could only hit the advertising boards with Letheren to beat.

Donnolly found himself in acres of space again on 17 minutes as he raced onto Ahmed Fahti's pass before drilling the ball across goal and wide of the target.

Skipper Simon Heslop ratted the top of the net with a free kick on 18 minutes as a Reds counter attack was ended with Danny Warburton being sent sprawling.

The second half started with United in the ascendancy and Nade almost got in again on 48 minutes as he glanced a header a foot over the bar.

The game turned on its head on 58 minutes as Nade managed to break free in the area before rounding Letheren and firing goalward only for his low shot to be hacked off the line. The ball fell to Stephen Quinn in the area and the midfielder was bundled over by Luke Waterfall. Quinn stepped up to take the penalty himself but found Letheren in outstanding form and the Welsh keeper made a brilliant one-handed save.

Barnsley had their own cast-iron claims for a penalty waved away on 63 minutes as Fedorenko was hacked to the ground in the area but the referee amazingly waved play on.

The Reds were really putting their bodies on the line as Waterfall and Jennings threw themselves into a challenge to block Quinn's shot on the six yard line on 79 minutes.

United finally made the breakthrough on 80 minutes as Nade found a rare yard of space in the area and he rifled the ball past Letheren and into the top corner.

Ian Ross almost netted a second in stoppage time as his shot cannoned off a defender and wrong-footed Letheren but dropped over the bar.

There was still time for a last-minute flashpoint as Nade threw a punch at Danny Smith after the Reds youngster had rashly dove into a challenge against the striker. Smith was booked and Nade was rightly shown his marching orders although he still found time to petulantly stomp around the pitch rather than leave quietly.

BARNSLEY: Letheren, Smith, Meynell, Jennings, Waterfall, Heslop, Ormsby (Mellor 81), White, Warburton, Adams, Fedorenko.
Subs: Devonshire, Grundy, McGrory, Free.

SHEFFIELD UNITED: Gerrard, Ross, Naughton, Kerry (Binnion 45), Seck, Horwood, Fathi, Quinn, Nade, Oliver (Abdi 75), Donnolly.
Subs: Annerson, Lowton, Eagers.