Sheffield Wednesday took the spoils at Hillsborough in the steel city derby for the second season in a row and their neighbours have now managed just one point from three games against the Owls since they were relegated from the Premier League in 2007.
Last season of course the defeat was all the fault of boss Bryan Robson and this time around united fans will doubtless point the finger of blame at referee Mike Dean, who sent off Blades defender Matt Kilgallon in the first half when perhaps a yellow would have been more appropriate.
Having said that, there have been plenty of occasions where a team reduced to 10 men gets spurred on by the perceived injustice-this wasn't one of them!
United came to Hillsborough on the back of 3 straight wins and listening to some of their supporters they expected victory, even perhaps a reversal of the famous boxing day massacre when United were trounced 4-0 in 1979.
Judging by this sort of hype, even playing with ten men shouldn't have been a problem against poor cash-strapped Wednesday.
In truth the Blades offered little to suggest that they are the superior team before or after the sending off. Their deluded fans spoke of how Beattie was to rule the roost but he didn't get a look in and the long-ball style of play meant that there was no way for Billy (not so) Sharp to get into the game either. In a report on sufc.co.uk, United's official website manager Kevin Blackwell, speaking about the contentious dismissal of Kilgallon stated ".. if that a sending off then we can't play football anymore". From where I was sitting they weren't playing that much football anyway, as Brian Clough once said if God had wanted us to play football in the sky he'd have put grass in the sky.
Wednesday were boosted by the surprise inclusion of Tommy Spurr who was expected to be out for weeks and talisman Akpo Sodje was back in the squad for the first time since terrorising Burnley in the first game of the season.
Both sides missed chances in the first half with Jermaine Johnson blazing over perhaps the best opportunity when well placed. Steve Watson's exquisite finish, courtesy of a comical mix up between Morgan and Kenny proved to be the winner but it could have been a much more comfortable second half for Wednesday.
James O'Connor outfoxed midfield counterpart Gary Speed to earn a penalty before the hour mark but Deon Burton saw his spot kick well saved by Kenny. The struggling striker is still yet to register this season and Francis Jeffers must surely be in contention for a start at Barnsley on Tuesday.
Despite this miss Wednesday were able to easily keep their more hyped and expensively assembled rivals at bay and Lee Grant was rarely extended in the second half.