Aston Villa 0 Sheffield United 0 - Report and pictures

Relegation-threatened Villa were thrown a lifeline by a technological malfunction which denied Sheffield United the first goal of the league’s restart.

Oliver Norwood looked to have put the Blades in front when Villa goalkeeper Orjan Nyland carried his free-kick over the line after being barged into by team-mate Keinan Davis.

But referee Michael Oliver’s watch failed to buzz meaning the home side survived for a point which, while not the result they really wanted, at least moved them another point closer to safety.

No-one will ever know how things would have played out had Norwood’s goal stood but over the 90 minutes defeat would have been harsh on Dean Smith’s team, for whom this felt a missed opportunity, lucky escape regardless.

Visiting keeper Dean Henderson saved from Conor Hourihane, the returning John McGinn and the excellent Davis, whose bustling performance on full Premier League debut had everything but the goal. Nyland, error aside, was rarely called into action.

The trouble for Villa is that this was their match in hand and a chance to climb out of the drop zone before their rivals in the relegation fight resume action at the weekend.

They remain in the bottom three and from here the road gets tougher, with Chelsea visiting on Sunday afternoon ahead of a week which ends with a home derby against Wolves after a trip to Newcastle.

The headline news of Villa’s team selection was the presence of McGinn, the Scot making his first appearance since suffering a fractured ankle in a 3-1 defeat to Southampton on December 21.

Yet perhaps even more interesting was the first Premier League start handed to striker Davis in a Villa team which featured six changes from the one beaten 4-0 at Leicester in the final match before the league’s suspension.

Orjan Nyland replaced Pepe Reina in goal, while Ezri Konsa and Kortney Hause were restored to defence.

Villa had done their best to give the ground some colour in the absence of supporters, with the Witton Lane Stands and Holte End decked out in flags sent from as far away as Prague and California.

In the Holte, meanwhile, there sat an orange stewards jacket draped over a seat, a poignant tribute to Dean Smith’s father Ron, who passed away last month and worked for many years as a steward at the ground.

If the minutes preceding kick-off were bizarre, with the Blades walking out to silence and Villa then emerging from the tunnel to music but no cheers, the seconds immediately following the first blast of referee Oliver’s whistle were powerful, with both teams and the match officials all dropping to a knee in a show of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

When the action did start for real it was Villa who were quickly on top, driven on by the bellowing of Smith, stood some 10 rows behind the dugouts in the Trinity Road Stand.

But they were unable to find a way past Henderson, Conor Hourihane testing the Blades keeper with an early half volley before both Davis and Kortney Hause missed good chances.

Davis headed over from no more than three yards out after Hause had headed a Grealish corner back across goal. Hause then headed a Hourihane centre wide with Villa looking particularly dangerous from set pieces.

It would be a Blades free-kick three minutes prior to the break which would deliver the game’s biggest talking point. Nyland clearly carried the ball over the line after being barged into by Davis as he claimed Norwood’s kick. But to the amazement of the visitors, Oliver simply pointed to his watch, indicating he had received no signal to say the ball had crossed.

The Blades incredulity only grew further as replays showed the evidence on the pitchside monitors and in the press box, from where one of the club’s analysts could be spotted, standing arms outstretched in disbelief.

The absence of an intervention by VAR was later explained on Villa having won a free-kick within seconds of the restart, meaning play had moved on to another phase but the visitors’ sense of injustice was understandable.

Villa began the second half with similar vigour to the first but this time they were carving out good chances. Davis brought a smart stop from Henderson after ghosting in behind John Egan to collect Matt Targett’s lofted through pass and was then inches away from converting Anwar El Ghazi’s low centre after the winger had been sent scampering away by a pinpoint Grealish pass.

Henderson then pulled off his best save yet, flying to his left to turn a McGinn shot round the post.

Oli McBurnie headed straight at Nyland from a corner in what was at that stage a rare attack for the visitors.

But Villa had also lost some of their drive with Mbwana Samatta unable to deliver the same presence as Davis, who had been withdrawn from the action and replaced by the Tanzanian with 20 minutes remaining.

Villa (4-2-3): Nyland, Konsa (Elmohamady 76), Hause, Mings, Targett, McGinn (Nakamba 76), Luiz, Hourihane, El Ghazi (Trezeguet 69), Davis (Samatta 69), Grealish, Subs not used: Taylor, Baston, Jota, Vassilev, Reina (gk).

Sheff U (3-5-2): Henderson, Basham, Egan, Stevens, Baldock, Berge (Freeman 69), Lundstram, Norwood, Robinson, McBurnie (Mousset 80), Sharp (McGoldrick 69) Subs not used: Jagielka, Rodwell, Freeman K, Freeman L, Osborn, Clarke, Moore (gk).