Warnock: More to come from dashing blades

Sheffield United boss Neil Warnock has warned the Coca-Cola Championship there is more to come from his side after seeing them establish a four-point lead at the top of the table.

A Steve Kabba double, the second of them in injury time, was enough to see off the challenge of Ipswich at Bramall Lane as the visitors were reduced to 10 men following the 87th-minute dismissal of defender Castro Sito.

“We deserved to win,” said Warnock, who saw keeper Paddy Kenny keep out a Darren Currie penalty at 1-0. “The lads are working really hard, but we can still play better.

“It’s the best start I’ve had and probably the best team I’ve ever had, but it doesn’t mean anything. You have still got to be lucky and have a little fortune with injuries.”

Opposite number Joe Royle admitted his side had been out-played and revealed the search for new recruits is continuing.

“I couldn’t argue with the result,” he said. “They were stronger and better than us on the day. We passed it quite well at times, but I couldn’t honestly say we threatened them.

“At the moment, we are young and a little bit weak. We look toothless and cannot buy a goal at the moment.”

Second-placed Reading had two points snatched from their grasp when Coventry defender Robert Page levelled with just three minutes remaining at the Ricoh Stadium.

Kevin Doyle had fired the visitors in front on 68 minutes after on-loan keeper Stephen Bywater had saved Leroy Lita’s penalty, although Royals’ boss Steve Coppell was not too critical of his frontman.

“I am a firm believer that penalties should be taken by the players who want them because quite often you find people hunting around for coins on the floor at times like that,” he said.

“Leroy’s taken a few and he’s missed a few, but he fancied this one and it was a good hit. It was also a magnificent save.”

Stoke had keeper Steve Simonsen sent off for felling Ashley Young and Marlon King took full advantage from the penalty spot to put Watford 3-0 up as the Hornets’ excellent early season form continued.

Early-season pace-setters Luton needed a 79th-minute Kevin Nicholls equaliser to deny Wolves victory at Kenilworth Road, although Hatters boss Mike Newell was banished to the stands by referee Lee Probert.

“I was sent to the stands for kicking the ball at him in an aggressive manner and pointing to where Carlos Edwards was booked,” he said. “It didn’t leave the ground, so I don’t know what ’aggressive manner’ is.

“He takes the ball at half-time, so I’m passing the ball back to him.”

Northern Ireland’s midweek hero David Healy found the back of the net twice in Leeds’ 3-3 home draw with Brighton, although it was Jonathon Douglas’ injury-time strike which snatched a point as his side fought back from 2-0 and 3-2 down.

There was a late equaliser for the home side too at Burnley, where James O’Connor struck at the death to deny Cardiff victory, while substitute Patrick Agyemang struck 13 minutes from time to claim three points for Preston at bottom-of-the-table Millwall.

There were wins too for Leicester over Sheffield Wednesday, Crystal Palace over Hull and Norwich over Plymouth, while Southampton and QPR shared the points on the south coast.

In League One, Brentford cemented their place at the top of the table with a 1-0 home win over the MK Dons, while Grimsby’s 1-0 success at Peterborough took them level on points with League Two leaders Notts County, who were held 1-1 at home by Chester.