Paul Heckingbottom frustrated as Sheffield United not given late penalty

Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom was frustrated at a late penalty not being given after his side drew 0-0 with fellow promotion hopefuls Bournemouth at Bramall Lane.

The game was played at a frantic pace despite the endless number of fouls given, but neither side could break the deadlock.

Lloyd Kelly came close to putting the ball past his own goalkeeper twice. Luckily for the Bournemouth man, the ball did not end up in the back of the net.

In added time in the first half, Morgan Gibbs-White played a lovely one-two with Oli McBurnie. The former received the ball in the penalty area, but Mark Travers’ strong hand kept the scores level.

Gibbs-White was afforded the best chance of the match up to that point when a Nathaniel Phillips slip allowed the midfielder through on goal. Travers did brilliantly to make himself big and pulled off a very strong save.

The Blades were denied a late penalty when Gibbs-White went down in the box but the loud appeals from the home side were waved away.

With practically the last kick of the game, Filip Uremovic sent his half-volley wide of the goal which left the majority of Bramall Lane with their hands on their heads.

Heckingbottom said: “Proud of the performance. We’re frustrated – we all are. We think it’s two points dropped; it’s a point closer to where we want to be.

“In terms of the game, we did enough to win it. I’ll take the positives out of it against a very good side – them and Fulham are certainly the two best attacking sides.

“We had the big chances, so we are disappointed that we didn’t get the three. But the application of the players and the desire to go and try and win the game was there.

“Everyone told me (in regards to the penalty appeal) but I’ve seen it back and it’s worse than described to me.

“I’ve been in and seen (the referee) but I probably feel worse actually. I don’t know why I bother going in. You go in wanting to knock their heads off and then come out having behaved yourself and just feel more frustrated. They’re not going our way at the minute, but we’ll save them up and hopefully things like that help us get over the line.”

Bournemouth head coach Scott Parker said: “It was a good point in the end. I thought it was a well-fought point, a very good game.

“Overall, I thought we were the better side for the majority of the game. I think it’s fair to say that Sheffield United had the better chances. I thought for large parts we were very good.

“It’s been a tough week for us. The turnaround has been pretty remarkable really. Two tough away games. West Brom on Wednesday night, get back in the early hours of the morning and then before you know it, we are on a plane to Sheffield.

“The atmosphere of what this stadium brings and the quality of the team. I think their record speaks volumes since Paul’s been in here at this place. It’s a tough place to come.

“Over the circumstances this week, my team were proper today and I’m very proud of the side.”