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The Steel City derby ended goalless on Monday night at Hillsborough. Steve Bruce’s Sheffield Wednesday produced a disciplined, determined performance to frustrate and shut out the promotion-chasing Sheffield United.
The Blades attacked persistently, and played some attractive football, but were ultimately unable to produce any end product against their bitter local rivals. Owls fans will be glad to have dented United’s title hopes and can look back on a job well done.
For Chris Wilder, though, it was a more frustrating affair. However, he will have been impressed by a few performances in his team. Despite only coming on in the 62nd minute to replace Kieran Dowell, Martin Cranie had an impressive impact on the game.
The 32-year-old defender showed his attacking quality against the Owls, bringing invention and drive to the Championship high-flyers.
Since his arrival at Bramall Lane in September, Cranie has consistently impressed when called upon and he is starting to push Chris Basham for his spot in the starting XI.
Certainly, if the former England under-21 international keeps this form up he could earn a new contract with the club, with his current deal due to expire at the end of the season.
After the disappointing derby, plenty of Blades fans took to Twitter to applaud Cranie’s efforts…
