After the long five-year wait, it was the visitors to Hillsborough that left victorious, with Sheffield United defeating their fierce rivals Sheffield Wednesday 4-2.

There was plenty of noise around the ground prior to kick off, but come the full time whistle, three quarters of the ground had been silenced.

However, the upper-tier of the Leppings Lane End remained a barrel of sound, after a result that I'm sure was the perfect late 50th birthday present for Chris Wilder.

It is a fixture football fans across the city of Sheffield will have looked for first when the fixtures were announced in June.

Before the 2017-18 season got underway, Sheffield Wednesday would've undoubtedly been favourites to win the derby, after their play-off failure last season, and Sheffield United being the new boys in the division.

Over a month into the season though and this is a result you aren't too surprised at, after the start that Chris Wilder's side have made this campaign.

In light of the 2-4 scoreline, the comparison in two clubs should not go unnoticed, and just how impressive it is that Sheffield United won this game - a game that they unquestionably deserved to. From the word go they looked in the groove and in the mood.

Derby games, especially derby games with the levels of hostility this one has, can often get the better of teams. Handling the occasion is a big thing and the side in red and white made no mistake in doing so. One individual that did that most impressively was David Brooks, the 20 year-old academy product, who put in a man-of-the-match performance.

He for sure now joins the list of the terrific talent the United academy have produced over the years, joining Harry Maguire, Kyle Walker, Kyle Naughton, and Phil Jagielka most noticeably.

Brooks was a handful all game and the experienced Wednesday back-line quite couldn't handle him - the only thing his performance was missing was a goal, which he came so close to grabbing in the second half.

Composure in these games is key and he showed the highest level of it, he looked menacingly dangerous, far more dangerous than anyone in a Wednesday shirt.

Leon Clarke had the last laugh over his former side, the forward netting a brace on his Hillsborough return.

He couldn't have filled in better, in the absence of star-man Billy Sharp.

When Lucas Joao slammed home to make it 2-2 after Gary Hooper pulled one back just before the interval, it looked as though The Owls had some reprieve.

In truth the equaliser only made Sheffield United stronger, and the cliché of you being most vulnerable when you have just scored was in full swing.

 

Chris Wilder has a tight-knit group under his belt at Bramall Lane, and this victory shows the rest of the division that there is more than one way to go about your business in order to succeed in the Championship. They follow the same method clubs such as Barnsley and Preston have used.

Numerous clubs spent millions this summer, the Owls included. Sheffield United sit fourth in the table after spending under £3 million this summer, which for a promoted club isn't a large amount.

The norm nowadays for clubs in the Championship, with so many teams having played in the top flight in recent years, is to throw the cheque book at it in the summer.

It doesn't always guarantee success, as we have seen on numerous occasions.

Wilder has spent the little money he has very wisely, strengthening in positions he had to, and as a result the team are playing well and winning football matches.

The squad has the balance you need as a manager. For sure they don't have the most skilful players in the league, but they have a mix of youth and experience and a team that wants to play for one and other and the manager.

Focusing on the Hillsborough match in particular, you got the feeling Sheffield Wednesday expected to turn up and breeze past their rivals who have been absent from the Championship for a number of years now.

When John Fleck struck in the opener early doors it was almost as if a cloud of realisation hovered over the stadium, that the visitors were no mugs and that the side in blue and white were in a fight.

Carlos Carvalhal has a task on his hands to pick the players up after that performance, they were carved open far too easily on three occasions and looked inferior to their opponents in all honesty, which is quite remarkable if you take the difference in spending into consideration.

The manager has the talent at the club certainly, but Carvalhal can't quite make it work on a consistent basis, which after that result today he really needs to do, sooner rather than later.