Aston Villa came away from Bramall Lane empty-handed against Sheffield United in the Premier League on Wednesday night.
David McGoldrick put the Blades ahead after 30 minutes in a first half that saw John McGinn, Bertrand Traoré and Ollie Watkins go close.
The latter hit the crossbar shortly after the restart before Phil Jagielka was sent-off for denying a goalscoring opportunity after VAR intervened.
But despite having an extra man, it took until injury time until Aaron Ramsdale was called into meaningful action, reacting quickly to keep out Ezri Konsa’s half-volley.
Fresh from beating Leeds United at Elland Road on Saturday, Villa made a confident start and almost took the lead when McGinn pulled a shot across the face of goal after ten minutes.
Watkins’ movement was posing a problem for the Sheffield centre halves, with the forward pulling into a channel and forcing Ramsdale into a smart save.
But after half an hour, the home side struck a sucker punch as McGoldrick tapped home George Baldock’s wayward shot at the far post.
The goal sparked Villa into life, and barely four minutes later, Traoré came agonisingly close to pulling them level with a breathtaking piece of skill.
Picking the ball up on the edge of the box with his back to goal, the winger displayed fabulous close control to evade four defenders and send a shot whizzing just past the far post.
The second half started as the first ended with the visitors dictating play, and they came within inches of levelling when Watkins’ flicked header struck the crossbar.
Their quest for a comeback was aided moments later when Jagielka was sent-off for denying Anwar El Ghazi a goalscoring opportunity, with VAR intervening to help referee Rob Jones upgrade his original yellow card.
Keen to take full advantage of his side’s numerical superiority, Dean Smith introduced Morgan Sanson and Ross Barkley in place of the more defensively minded Marvelous Nakamba and Jacob Ramsey.
Traoré and El Ghazi saw shots blocked as Villa struggled to breakdown a battling Blades backline.
And when they finally found a way to goal, Ramsdale was up to the task to deny Konsa a late equaliser.
Villa: Martinez, Elmohamady, Konsa, Mings, Targett, J Ramsey (Sanson 68'), Nakamba (Barkley 68'), McGinn, Traore (Davis 81'), Watkins, El Ghazi.
Unused subs: Heaton, Taylor, Kesler, Engels, Luiz, Trezeguet.