Iliman Ndiaye and Oli McBurnie fired Sheffield United back to winning ways in the early kick-off at the Hawthorns.
Heckingbottom made three changes for the trip to The Hawthorns, with McBurnie, Doyle and Ndiaye all starting, as Sharp, Brewster and McAtee dropped to the bench, where they were joined by Stevens.
United started the game off with plenty of possession and they fashioned their first chance through Norwood who couldn’t direct his long-range curling effort on target.
At the other end, former Blade Matt Phillips got behind the defence down their right, but United’s defence just about dealt with the attack.
The Blades took the lead in the 11th minute after an excellent over-the-top through ball from Doyle saw Baldock get in behind the West Brom defence, and he cushioned the ball back towards Ndiaye who fired kept his cool and slotted the ball home.
Ndiaye was the creator of United’s second – he danced his way past the West Brom midfield on the halfway line, and then he set up his strike partner Oli McBurnie who curled the ball into the bottom right corner, making the goal look much easier than it was.
The home side responded positively, with Furlong’s long throws and a flurry of corners pushing United back. Then shortly after, Davies was called into action by Phillips.
Before halftime, Ndiaye broke the offside trap and he had to use body feints to get a shot away against three defenders on the edge of the box, but one of the defenders deflected the shot just over the bar.
Albion had the first chance of the second period but Davies was equal to a tame effort from the onrushing Grant. United looked to add a third goal when Doyle slipped the ball through to Ndiaye who took the ball past the goalkeeper, but unfortunately, the angle wasn’t great and he hit his shot into the side-netting.
Doyle soon had a chance of his own when he rushed to the edge of the box and tried to curl the ball into the top corner but the shot wasn’t accurate.
United made their first change with 25 minutes remaining, as Brewster replaced Fleck, a switch that saw Ndiaye drop into a slightly deeper role. Unfortunately, Brewster pulled up with a hamstring injury, and while he was down West Brom capitalised and they almost pulled a goal back through Swift whose spinning effort fell narrowly wide of the top corner.
Sharp came on to replace the injured Brewster. Baldock also made way as Robinson entered the fray prompting a defensive reshuffle. Davies was called into action again when Molumby stung his palms late on.
Stevens was introduced for his first appearance since the opening day of the season, as Basham was withdrawn. And the Blades faced heavy pressure on their goal in the final 5 minutes with the home side launching the ball into the box at any given opportunity.
United’s defence hung on though, to register their first win in seven games, relieving some of the pressure on the Blades as they got themselves back on track.
Ahmedhodzic was booked which means he will miss the trip to Bristol City in midweek.
West Brom: Palmer, Furlong, Townsend (Reach 76), O’Shea, Livermore (Molumby 58), Phillips, Diangana, Pieters, Wallace (Swift 58), Grant, Gardner-Hickman (Thomas-Asante 85).
Unused: Button, Kelly, Yokuslu.
Blades: Davies, Baldock (Robinson 76), Fleck (Brewster 65, Sharp 76), Basham (Stevens 85), McBurnie, Egan, Ahmedhodžić, Norwood, Doyle, Osborn, Ndiaye.
Unused: Amissah, Khadra, McAtee.