Both teams will have entered this contest desperate for a victory having endured a combined 16 matches without one.
That translated into a highly competitive opening to proceedings that included a promising opportunity apiece, although Ben Brereton Díaz couldn’t make a clean connection after racing through and Sergio Reguilón rose well but sent his header off-target.
There was a period of relative calm and Vitaly Janelt’s side-footed attempt was routinely saved by Ivo Grbić while Brereton Díaz blazed his effort over at the other end.
Mikkel Damsgaard’s strike went equally as high following an intelligent corner from Mathias Jensen before the midfielder sent an ambitious shot of his own straight at Grbić.
The first half’s best chance fell to Neal Maupay following a sloppy pass from Anel Ahmedhodžić and Bryan Mbeumo’s quick thinking in the 37th minute, but Grbić rushed out to close down the striker as he poked the ball wide.
Both sides continued to show intent after the restart but couldn’t quite find the quality to match, epitomised by Ben Osborn trying to catch out Mark Flekken but seeing his strike blocked.
Zanka eventually beat Grbić in the 55th minute but had strayed offside, yet it wasn’t long until Brentford edged ahead with a slice of fortune. Mikkel Damsgaard made a great burst up the pitch and saw his cutback deflected into the bottom corner by Ollie Arblaster’s outstretched boot.
The Danes’ luck didn’t last, though, as what would have been his first goal in club football since December 2020 was ruled out due to Nathan Collins’ foul on Oli McBurnie.
Their second eventually arrived in the 93rd minute when Frank Onyeka latched onto fellow substitute Kevin Schade’s flick to score his first Brentford goal shortly coming off the bench, as the Bees ended their nine-game winless run to go seven points above the relegation zone.
They also inflicted Sheffield United’s second defeat in their last three games, leaving the Blades bottom and 10 points from safety.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Sergio Reguilón (Brentford)
