Gustavo Hamer has scored four goals and provided one assist in Sheffield United's first six Championship matches this season
Gustavo Hamer's fabulous curling free kick helped Sheffield United see off Derby County at Bramall Lane.
Hamer's fourth goal of the season eight minutes into the second half broke the deadlock after United struggled to beat Derby's Jacob Widell Zetterstrom, who had a superb game in goal for the visitors.
Rams captain Nathanial Mendez-Laing came closest for Derby when he hit the post in the first half after Jesurun Rak-Sakyi hit the bar for the Blades early on.
United jump to third in the Championship table following three league wins on the spin, while Derby drop to 10th.
Both teams began the match in good form following back-to-back league wins, and it was the visitors who could have opened the scoring after a minute, but Kayden Jackson fired wide when he ought to have done better.
Sheffield United’s Rak-Sakyi then found a yard inside the penalty area, but his effort was wonderfully saved by Rams summer signing Zetterstrom, who managed to deflect a goal-bound shot on to the bar and away.
Halfway through the first half, Callum Elder found himself down the left wing for the Rams and worked the ball to Jerry Yates, who set up Rams captain Mendez- Laing, whose vicious strike struck the United upright with goalkeeper Michael Cooper beaten.
United manager Chris Wilder was becoming increasingly frustrated with Derby’s tactics of slowing the game down, and after a tussle to try to retrieve the ball for a throw-in with Derby striker Jerry Yates, Wilder squared up to opposite manager Paul Warne, which earned the pair a booking.
Just before the break, Gustavo Hamer sent a bender that looked like it was heading into the far corner, but Zetterstrom got down quickly to make another impressive save.
Defining moment
Eight minutes into the second half came the game’s defining moment.
Against his old club, Rams midfielder Ben Osborn fouled Hamer just outside the box, and the former Netherlands under-20 international whipped the ball around the wall to finally beat Zetterstrom via a flick off the near post to secure the three points in the most spectacular way.
After scoring, Hamer removed his shirt to dedicate a tribute to the late Maddy Cusack, who also wore the number eight shirt for the Blades.
Zetterstrom kept the deficit to just one soon after when he came out to deny full-back Harrison Burrows.
Despite more than eight minutes of added time being played, Derby were unable to dig out a clear opportunity for themselves to test keeper Cooper in the Blades goal as the hosts took a deserved victory.
Rams must make 'big strides' - Warne
The fact Sheffield United had 61% possession and a superior squad with Premier League experience meant Derby County were only ever going to be given a finite number of chances to score.
Paul Warne rued his side's missed opportunities and will want to improve its away record with all the Rams visits this season resulting in defeat, conceding seven goals.
Former Rotherham boss Warne said his side needs to make the necessary "strides" to succeed in the Championship.
"I'd like to think that we're trying to build a team that's going to push us to the higher part of the league, and whether that takes 12 months, 24 months, 36 months, I can't say, but we've got to make strides.
"When you're playing against teams that have very good players, you know you have to make big strides."
Winless away, Warne and Derby County have been unbeatable at home with wins over Middlesborough, Bristol and Cardiff.
They'll be hoping to make it four wins from four at Pride Park next Saturday when they host Norwich.
'Game isn't all about silky stuff' - Wilder
Blades supporters would have been hoping to see the club put more than one goal past Derby, but Warne's side proved to be a rigid, frustrating defensive unit.
Manager Chris Wilder expected the game to not be easy but insisted that he isn't solely focused on "silky" attacking football this early in the season.
"We will get better, and we will play better," said Wilder.
"But the game isn't all about silky stuff and flicks and great passes, and we'll find that because we've got genuine quality.
"From a technical point of view, we've got technical players, tactically we feel we're in a good place; we know the system we're trying to implement, and anything that comes against it, we can go and press and counter-press."
Sheffield United will be travelling down to the south coast next Saturday as they visit Portsmouth before returning to Bramall Lane to host Swansea.
