10 aerial duels won, 9 interceptions: The Sheffield United player who proved to be instrumental v Blackburn Rovers

Sheffield United extended their unbeaten run in the Championship to eight matches with a gutsy 1-0 win over Blackburn Rovers at Bramall Lane on Wednesday night – and it was a match that could have turned out a lot differently.

The Blades have been in sensational form under Paul Heckingbottom’s management but following Charlie Goode’s 66th-minute red card for a lunge on Reda Khadra, Rovers threatened to take all three points.

And it’s something they could have done from the penalty spot, however Khadra was denied and despite having more chances to be victorious, Rovers succumbed to a late, late goal from the Blades, who in turn solidified their own promotion and play-of hopes.

Even though Ben Davies was the match-winner for Sheffield United on the night, one of the better performances and perhaps an underrated player in general was Republic of Ireland international John Egan, who was a rock at the back for the Yorkshire side.

Egan’s stats (all provided by Wyscout) make for impressive reading against Rovers, and they’re even better considering his side had a man disadvantage for the last half an hour of the game.

On the defensive side of things, Egan won three of his five defensive duels, as well as 10 of his 12 aerial duels and added eight clearances and nine interceptions to his stat-line – hardly anything got past him on the night.

The importance of being a good ball-player in Heckingbottom’s system is major as well and Egan is proving to be a good passer, with 47 of his 55 attempts being completed and he made three passes into the final third of the pitch.

The only blot on the Irishman’s copy book was conceding a second half penalty due to an unfortunate handball, but thankfully his blushes were spared by Wes