Title-chasing Sheffield Wednesday put a depleted United to the sword in the opening fixture of the New Year…
Two goals in the first half and three in the second - including a hat-trick by Josh Windass - made for a humbling experience in South Yorkshire as the U’s struggled to keep pace.
With the squad down to the bare bones, Mark Bonner named four changes from Friday’s game at Derby as Liam Bennett, Joe Ironside, Saikou Janneh and Lewis Simper were named in the starting XI.
Just five players were named on the bench, including the teenage pairing of Kai Yearn and George Hoddle.
It didn’t take long for the home side to take the lead - a clipped ball over the top of the defence was latched onto by Windass, who outmuscled Taylor to leave himself a one-on-one before calmly finishing past Mannion in goal.
Despite a handful of promising moments in attack that came to nothing, it was largely all Wednesday during the early exchanges. They made it 2-0 on 21 minutes when a penalty was awarded for a foul on Patterson, which Smith duly converted.
There was a feeling of déjà vu as last season’s clash at Hillsborough turned ugly early on, but Bonner’s men found a way to dig in and keep the score-line respectable during the first half - partly thanks to a smart save from Mannion to deny Windass when the striker was through on goal.
The deficit could have been reduced with five minutes to play in the half, as Simper struck the woodwork from a well-taken volley, before Taylor’s looping back-post header was cleared off the line.
The U’s headed for the dressing room down by two but with some encouraging moments before the whistle blew for the break.
An opening for Knibbs just a couple of minutes after the break could have made for an interesting second half, but straight down the other end an assured finish from Palmer inside the box made it 3-0 on 52 minutes, all but confirming the result with United now needing a miracle to get anything out of the game.
With just over an hour to play, Bonner turned to the bench and introduced Tracey for Janneh. The next best chance of the match fell to Okedina, who got across his man from a U’s corner but headed over the bar from close range.
A sloppy giveaway in midfield set the Owls up to score their fourth, as Windass grabbed his second with an arrowed strike into the bottom corner from a narrow angle. Windass scored his hat-trick with another tremendous finish, fired into the bottom corner once again from the edge of the box.
It was another afternoon to forget for United at Hillsborough, as the U’s managed to stave off any further damage and now look ahead to Saturday’s return home against Bristol Rovers.