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David McGoldrick's first-half strike was the difference as Sheffield United beat Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 at Bramall Lane.
The first clear opening of the match fell to Neal Maupay, who was thwarted one-on-one by Aaron Ramsdale after 13 minutes.
Brighton were punished six minutes later when McGoldrick swivelled on a loose ball in their penalty area to score his seventh league goal of the season.
Graham Potter's team started the second half with attacking intent, Adam Lallana shooting straight at Ramsdale within a minute of the restart before the Sheff Utd goalkeeper produced another low save from Maupay.
Jakub Moder had a goal disallowed for offside and Maupay directed a shot over the bar from close range as Brighton tried in vain to find an equaliser.
Having ended a run of five straight league defeats, relegated Sheff Utd, for whom this was interim head coach Paul Higginbotham's first victory, now have 17 points from 33 matches.
Brighton stay 16th, seven points above the relegation zone, with five matches remaining.
See; Sheff Utd report | Brighton report
Next fixtures
Sheff Utd: 2 May v Spurs (A)
Brighton: 1 May v Leeds (H)
Match officials
Referee: Kevin Friend. Assistants: Simon Beck, Darren Cann. Fourth official: Tony Harrington. VAR: Michael Oliver. Assistant VAR: Andy Halliday.
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