Birmingham City 1-1 Sheffield United: Blades fail to return to promotion places after Michael Morrison cancels out rare Enda Stevens goal By Janine Self for the Daily Mail Published: 21:39 BST, 10 April 2019 | Updated: 21:44 BST, 10 April 2019 Viewcomments Chris Wilder found himself in the no man's land of managerial awards at the weekend when he was named manager of the EFL before the end of the campaign. It will count for nothing if the Sheffield United boss cannot upgrade it to a promotion trophy and that means going through nights like this. A night of ultimate frustration and a failure to leapfrog Leeds into second place in the Championship. Enda Stevens (right) powered Sheffield United into the lead with a fierce left-footed strike Mark Duffy (left) congratulated Stevens on what was his first club goal since March 2018 Captain Billy Sharp hugged Stevens as the Blades celebrated their opener on Wednesday night Last weekend Birmingham boss Garry Monk dubbed Sheffield United's style 'unique' and it was meant as a compliment even if it also posed a head-scratching challenge. It was said in the wake of a win over Leeds, who are locked in a deadly duel with their Yorkshire rivals. Monk, once of Leeds, may be more concerned with regaining the nine points deducted for financial fair play irregularities but he is destined to have a say at the top of the table too. His aim, to give a 'twist', meant trying to find a way past a team with eight clean sheets in nine matches and one defeat in 12. A daunting task but then so was ending a run of five straight defeats by beating Leeds. Predictably the start was a slow one with both sides testing each other out. The first meaningful save of the night was down to Dean Henderson, who prevented what looked like being a spectacular own goal. Connor Mahoney, a livewire on the right, teed up Gary Gardner, whose shot struck Martin Crainie on the bonce and off at a wicked angle. Henderson's reactions needed to be quick. The cat-and-mousery continued until Birmingham defender Harlee Dean illustrated why he plays at the back by skying a glorious effort from inside the area. It was a bad miss and helped maintain the theory that this match was showing signs of turning into an appreciation of the gritty side of the game. That was blown out of the window with two goals in three first-half minutes. United struck first, Enda Stevens combining with former Birmingham midfielder Mark Duffy, before beating Lee Camp with a powerful shot. Then captain Michael Morrison reacted to a clearance from Gary Gardner's effort. United needed more than a draw though to overtake Leeds and go back into second place. A scrappy goal from a Birmingham corner kick saw the home team draw level on 42 minutes Birmingham goalscorer Michael Morrison (No 28) watched on the ball flew into the net Defender Morrison leapt into the air in celebration after levelling the scores at St Andrew's Birmingham were proving stubborn and occasionally threatening. Lukas Jutkiewicz might have done better with a ball from Kristian Pedersen but headed wide of Henderson's post. David McGoldrick almost restored the visitors' lead from a free kick but was denied by Camp. There was another sub-plot at St Andrew's. Billy Sharp v Che Adams, 23 League goals versus 22 and both names in the EFL team of the season. It was Adams who caught the eye first with a spectacular long-range effort which Henderson tipped over the bar. The forward then fed substitute Jota and Henderson was called upon again to make a vital save. The match was becoming more and more open although the tension of the visiting fans was palpable. The shouts were tinged with anxiety. McGoldrick rose to Chris Basham's cross from the right and headed wide as the wait went on. In the very last minute McGoldrick's header from Oliver Norwood's corner was agonisingly close. Basham was back in the action with a header from Stevens' cross but Morrison produced a clearance to rescue Birmingham. Whatever the result here, the fight with Leeds is going right to the wire. Wilder knows that, the players know that, the fans know that. Hang on to your hats. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility