Sheffield United 1-0 Norwich: Darius Henderson winner is tonic for sick son

Darius Henderson dedicated his goal to his seriously-ill baby son Brody after making the agonising decision to leave his family in London to play for the Blades.

The £2million striker admitted it was a tough choice as his 10-week-old baby was in intensive care on Friday night.

But after Brody's condition improved, Henderson agreed to travel back to Sheffield and was rewarded with his first goal since September.

"I would like to dedicate the goal to my son, Brody," said Henderson before rushing back down to be with his wife and three sons. "I was up at the hospital last night and it's not nice. But he's doing well and hopefully he'll come through fine.

"There was a doubt whether I should travel up north to play, but I hope the decision was the right one and I enjoyed the game."

Henderson was handed a starting berth in the absence of leading scorer James Beattie, who still looks set for a Premier League return despite Stoke failing to match the Blades' valuation.

The former Watford striker made his case for an extended run in the side with a 17th-minute header that proved enough to beat a toothless Norwich side.

Stephen Quinn had already hit the crossbar when Henderson struck.

Norwich also hit the woodwork in a late and unsuccessful rally as they sank to a fifth straight away defeat in the Championship.

City are only out of the bottom three on goal difference, but boss Glenn Roeder said: "Everyone stood up to be counted.

"There's no questioning the commitment the players have shown to the cause out there.

"We need to take heart from the performance."