Running in on David Lucas, the Wednesday goalkeeper presented a difficult target to beat but Morrison’s shot was unconvincing.For the visitors, Chris Brunt’s free-kick after ten minutes was spilled by Gabor Kiraly but Chris Eagles wasted the follow-up.Palace doubled their lead and although there was more than half an hour remaining, Wednesday appeared to have run out of ideas. With Ben Watson having just curled a shot wide from 25 yards, Palace were straight back at Sheffield Wednesday. Marco Reich, signed from Derby County and operating out on the left, hit the perfect cross to the far post where Dougie Freedman headed back across goal for Morrison to tap in from all of one yard out.In fact, Morrison, who cost £2m at the end of August, should have scored his second nine minutes later. The expectations levels are so different after being in the Premiership and we haven’t played to those levels yet.”The former Birmingham City striker’s fourth goal in five games certainly gave his side some sort of insurance which they needed given their obvious nervousness in defence.

Crystal Palace were hoping for regular contributions from Johnson but now it is Morrison’s responsibility to give the Eagles some impetus after their sluggish start to the season.
Dowie said: “Clinton is on excellent form and this was a good win. With Andy Johnson out injured for at least another fortnight, Morrison’s re-acquaintance with his old club has proved a shrewd transfer move. Nevertheless, goals from Clinton Morrison and Emmerson Boyce eased the recent pain of two recent defeats and a draw. Substitutes not used: West, McCormick (gk).Referee: G Laws (Tyne and Wear).. Winning for the first time in four games will have come as welcome relief to Iain Dowie, although the Crystal Palace manager has seen his team suffer worse starts to the season and still reach the play-offs. Substitutes not used: Tonge, Geary.Plymouth Argyle (4-4-2): Larrieu; Barness, Doumbe, Aljofree, Brevett (Djordjic, 57) ; Gudjonsson (Buzsaky, 57), Wotton, Norris, Capaldi ; Evans, Chadwick (Taylor, 57). United responded and it took a double save by Larrieu from Steve Kabba, followed by a goal-preventing block by Tony Capaldi from Shipperley, to keep Plymouth in touch.Sheffield United (4-4-2): Kenny; Kozluk, Bromby, Morgan, Unsworth; Ifill (Gillespie, 69), Montgomery, Jagielka, Quinn; Shipperley (Pericard, 64), Kabba (Webber, 78).

Before half-time, United goalkeeper Paddy Kenny was almost embarrassed when a speculative shot from Paul Wotton hit a post, then had to make a decent save to deny Nick Chadwick as Plymouth demonstrated potency going forward.Soon after the break, Kenny denied Chadwick before a goalline clearance by Nick Montgomery foiled a Micky Evans header. The former Sheffield Wednesday midfielder scored with a direct free-kick from 20 yards, the ball arrowing through a porous defensive wall to nestle in the bottom right-hand corner.Yet Plymouth, clearly out to impress new manager Tony Pulis, never allowed Warnock’s team to look comfortable. Romain Larrieu, the Plymouth goalkeeper, made a good save when Neil Shipperley rose to meet Paul Ifill’s cross with a strong close-range header only for the ball to hit the veteran striker and rebound into the net.Alan Quinn doubled the lead after 31 minutes. This is his seventh in charge at Bramall Lane and given that he has yet to fulfil his quest to take United into the Premiership it is not unreasonable to assume that he might not be given many more chances.If this is to be his last throw of the dice, however, then he has started by rolling double-six.Even before last night’s match, United had recorded their best start to a season and after two goals in the first 31 minutes it was clear that their momentum is as strong as ever.They were in front inside 10 minutes, albeit with a touch of good fortune. Reading, who play this evening, host Neil Warnock’s side at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday.For the moment, though, Warnock has a rosy perspective on his club’s progress, even though he is still waiting to learn if he will be offered a new contract when his present deal expires at the end of this season. This victory, made possible by two goals in just over half an hour, is an eighth off the reel for the Blades, who could scarcely have made a more compelling case for achieving automatic promotion, winning 10 of their first 11.
They have a seven-point lead this morning, although the table may look considerably less comfortable for them by the weekend. No one has yet suggested the race for the Championship might be over but Sheffield United continue to show their rivals a clean pair of heels.