WORCESTER City’s heroic FA Cup display at Sheffield United is at risk of being overshadowed by crowd trouble.

Although defeated 3-0 by the League One Blades at Bramall Lane, Carl Heeley and Matt Gardiner’s side have no reason to reproach themselves.

They might have come up short, but they gave everything and conducted themselves in a wholly professional manner.

Which, sadly, is more than can be said for an admittedly small element of travelling fans. More than 2,000 supporters made the journey up the M1, but some had their experience tarnished by the actions of the few.

There were reports of disturbances in the away end, which led to United shutting all the food and drink kiosks at half-time for “safety reasons”.

People have been quick to point the finger at the stewards and police but, as the saying goes, there is no smoke without fire.

While these fans are in the minority and those involved at Sheffield United may face punishment for their actions, the club will ultimately suffer.

Only last season the Football Association gave City a slap on the wrist for the pitch invasion that followed the 1-1 second-round draw at Scunthorpe United.

They were again in the dock, escaping without financial penalty, after fans threw bottles and let off flares and smoke bombs during the replay at Aggborough.

City are walking a tightrope in this regard and the scenes at Sheffield United, no matter how small the numbers, will do little to endear them to the authorities.

Plenty of hard work went on behind the scenes organising tickets and coach travel prior to the Sheffield trip, no mean feat in under a fortnight for a largely volunteerrun club.

But their efforts, and those of the vast majority of supporters who behaved themselves and rightly revelled in Worcester’s heroics, are being undermined.