BURY dug deep at Bramall Lane to restore pride and confidence in the team, despite the cruel late blow in stoppage time that condemned them to a ninth straight league defeat.

Caretaker manager Chris Brass set up his side with a clear game plan to frustrate the Blades, fending off a succession of attacks throughout the 90 minutes.

It took bravery and structure, which has been sadly lacking in recent weeks, to hold on for so long against the dominant hosts.

The fact Bury managed to hold out until the 93rd minute was made all the more remarkable by the fact they did it with only 10 men for the majority of the match after midfielder Jacob Mellis was sent off in the first half.

Greg Leigh was also dismissed two minutes from time before former Shaker Ethan Ebanks-Landell slotted home a late winner to break Bury hearts.

After coming so close to a first clean sheet in 21 games, Brass was delighted with his side’s performance, which prompted a section of the home support to stay behind after the full-time whistle to clap them off.

“It doesn’t hurt in as much as they’ve given a performance that gets everybody proud again,” Brass said. “But yes, the dressing room is hurting, which is what you would expect after the manner of the defeat.

“We still stuck to it and did what we wanted to do against a good Sheffield United side and we frustrated them right until the last two minutes and that’s even with nine men.

“That is what I would expect from a Bury side and that’s what the fans would expect.

“It’s an understanding of what is needed moving forward and it can be a good turning point for us.

“I’ve been here many, many years and I’ve never seen a team clapped off at Bramall Lane by the home fans.

“To be clapped off by the champions-elect, it was a good performance.”

As if going to Sheffield United, who are second in the League One table, was not difficult enough on the back of eight straight defeats, Mellis made the task near impossible when he was sent off for a late tackle towards the end of the first half.

Full-back Leigh picked up a yellow card for time wasting midway through the second half before a clumsy tackle earned him his second booking – reducing the Shakers to nine men.

Goalkeeper Ben Williams and skipper Antony Kay made a number of heroic blocks and saves, but in the end they fell just short of earning a point.

Brass, meanwhile, is considering asking for Mellis’s red card to be rescinded.

“We were a bit unfortunate in terms of a rash challenge but watching it back is it a red? I’m not too sure,” he said.

“The tough thing in some of these things is it’s difficult to rescind it, we have got to have a proper look.”

Brass welcomed back Craig Jones into the side for the first time in two months after the right-back recovered from a thigh injury to replace the suspended Niall Maher.

Striker Tom Pope returned to the starting XI after a six-week lay off with a rib injury and Scott Burgess was handed his first start of the season.

“Scott Burgess put in a fantastic shift,” Brass added.

“Craig Jones got 90 minutes, they put in a fantastic shift. They came knocking at my door asking and that’s what you need.

“We set out the gameplan and the actual defending started with James Vaughan and Tom Pope. We do the GPS and it will be interesting to see how far James Vaughan has run tonight.”

Bury will be looking to end a club-record nine straight defeats at home to Millwall on Saturday and Brass is relishing the chance to show the home supporters they have turned the corner at last.

“We have got a big game now against Millwall,” he said. “Let’s get back to what we are, let’s get everybody understanding it and let’s do it in front of the home fans.”

Match ratings

Bury (4-4-2): Williams 9; Jones 9, Kay 9, Barnett 8 (Danns 77, 6), Leigh 8; Soares 8, Mellis 4, Burgess 8 (Tutte 60, 6), Mayor 8; Pope 7 (Etuhu 45, 7), Vaughan 8. Subs not used: Rachubka, Bedeau, Hope, G Miller.

Sheffield United (3-1-4-2): Moore; Wright (Chapman 63), O’Connell, Ebanks-Landell; Lafferty; Fleck, Basham, Coutts, Scougall (Clarke 45); Sharp, Done (Lavery 75). Subs not used: Ramsdale, Hussey, Brown, Whiteman.

Referee: Ross Joyce (Cleveland).