Sheffield United 0 Cardiff City 0: Beattie bouncing again but in battle for starting role

Twenty-two goals last season or not, James Beattie has been warned of a battle to return to Sheffield United's starting line-up the other side of the international break.

The striker, sidelined since April with a knee injury, threatened to make the vital difference in this turgid deadlock with Cardiff City during a powerful 10-minute cameo as a substitute.

But, on an afternoon that was dominated by centre-halves rather than centre-forwards, Ugo Ehiogu emerged as evidence that the United manager, Kevin Blackwell, means what he says when insisting that players initially seen as stand-ins will keep their shirts if they perform well.

Ehiogu held off the claims of the fit-again captain Chris Morgan to stay in a side whose four-match winning run ended because Billy Sharp and Darius Henderson were shackled by Roger Johnson and Darren Purse.

Now Beattie may need to show patience before being fully reintegrated to an attack he led in his swashbuckling way last season. "Chris Morgan missed a couple of matches through injury and it's part of the game that you might not get your place straight back," Ehiogu said. "It's nice for me to bed down a little but we play Saturday and Tuesday a lot in the coming weeks and the squad are going to be needed.

"Having James back fully fit will be a big boost. Birmingham produced three top-drawer strikers against us off the bench on the first day of the season and, when two teams are well matched, it does take that little something. 'Beats' might produce a free-kick or a little turn and shot that can decide these games."

For a team who had scored 11 goals in their four last games, Sheffield demanded little of the Cardiff keeper, Tom Heaton. Henderson steered a header off target early on and Stephen Quinn flashed a shot wide in a late onslaught led by Beattie and the overdue craft provided by another substitute, David Cotterill.

Most finesse, though, came from Cardiff, still unbeaten since FA Cup final day and building another promising Championship challenge. Around the rocks of their central defence, they had good performers in full-backs Kevin McNaughton and Miguel Comminges, the latter a Guadeloupe international who arrived in South Wales this summer after time in France and Swindon.

Injuries are hurting Dave Jones' squad and he will breathe more easily if tomorrow dawns with highly rated Johnson and Joe Ledley out of Premier League clutches for a few months.

Johnson has already picked up the goalscoring threat from last season and it is easy to see why he is a player in demand.

Sheffield United (4-4-2): Kenny; Sun, Ehiogu, Kilgallon, Naysmith; Halford (Cotterill, 68), Tonge (Webber, 90), Speed, Quinn; Henderson, Sharp (Beattie, 80). Substitutes not used: Morgan, Spring.

Cardiff City (4-4-2): Heaton; McNaughton, Purse, R Johnson, Comminges; Whittingham, McPhail, Ledley, Parry; McCormack (Thompson, 90), Bothroyd (E Johnson, 85). Substitutes not used: Enckelman (gk), Gyepes, Blake.

Referee: C Webster (Tyne and Wear).

Man of the match: R Johnson.

Attendance: 29,226.