Last updated on .From the section Championship

Leon Clarke has 15 league goals this season, but missed the game's best chance

Sheffield United's play-off hopes took a knock as Nottingham Forest battled to a third successive goalless draw.

John Fleck's teasing cross gave Leon Clarke an open goal chance, but the Blades' leading scorer somehow headed wide from two yards.

Clarke also headed straight at Forest goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon in a match punctuated by heavy snow showers.

Forest's threat grew after the break with Ben Brereton's header forcing a point-blank save from Jamal Blackman.

Sheffield United went into the match looking to extend a run of three straight home wins and should have led at the break, with midfielder Fleck at the heart of their best moments.

But Aitor Karanka's Forest improved and carried the greater threat after the break, particularly on the counter-attack, with Blackman having to keep out close-range strikes from Kieran Dowell and Daryl Murphy.

Play had to be halted briefly midway through the second half to allow groundstaff to clear the lines of snow, but it did not halt the visitors' momentum, with Blackman again denying Brereton.

United dropped two places to ninth in the table, but remained just two points outside the play-off positions, while Forest extended their best unbeaten run of the season to seven matches and stay 16th.

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder told BBC Radio Sheffield:

"We're frustrated, we didn't do enough in the final third. I think every time our players stepped into the final third we didn't show enough quality.

"I keep saying, the commitment and the effort is great. The shape of the team was decent against a huge team in this division who have got nothing to play for.

"We've obviously got something to play for and we should have got into better positions."

Nottingham Forest boss Aitor Karanka told BBC Radio Nottingham:

"It's important not to concede, but it's always important to score goals. We need to keep on improving and working because we need to be ambitious.

"We're in a comfortable position in the table, but I want to win as many games as possible."