One derby goal tends to be enough for a place in Steel City folklore, so Tyrese Campbell is more than assured of his entry to the pantheon after scoring twice in Sheffield United’s 3-0 win at Hillsborough, 12 months on from his similar match-winning effort in the fixture at Bramall Lane.

Chris Wilder’s side remain in the Championship bottom three but this was a bright spot in what has otherwise been a bleak campaign. Tom Cannon’s stoppage-time third gave the scoreline the sheen the Blades’ performance probably warranted, and meant the result was the first three-goal away victory in the 131-year league history between these teams.

But Wilder, now unbeaten in seven of these occasions as United manager and so often a lightning rod for antipathy between the sides, was keen to emphasise the bigger picture post-match, with Wednesday still picking their way through the challenging financial fallout of Dejphon Chansiri’s apocalyptic regime.

“I’m not going to be greedy. It’s not a time to unbelievably shout about our performance, our result,” he said. “It’s no wind-up, it’s no spin regarding the situation the opposition players and the management have been in. I’ve been there. So we got a result, we should be picking up more results, but I thought it was a really competitive Sheffield derby.”

Tyrese Campbell (left) puts Sheffield United 1-0 up by beating Ethan Horvath in the 11th minute. Photograph: George Wood/Getty Images

For Wednesday the wait for a victory against their neighbours goes on – February 2012 was their last – but, more immediately, it leaves them rooted to the foot of the table with escape looking unlikely. The club’s administrators are hopeful of having a buyer lined up by 5 December and the pre-match optimism was palpable, but the road to recovery looks a long one, and surely goes via League One. Thanks to their 12-point deduction – and there are fears there could be another before the season is out – they remain on minus four points, 18 adrift of Oxford in the last safe spot.

“We have this feeling that we didn’t play all-out today,” said Henrik Pedersen, the Sheffield Wednesday manager, whose side are without a home win since April. “We didn’t come all-out with who Sheffield Wednesday is, and we have to learn to play big games and to think big in big games.”

Wednesday’s threadbare squad deserve no blame for the club’s travails this season but the players did have to take their share of responsibility for United’s opener. Yan Valery was pickpocketed on the edge of his own box by Jaïro Riedewald, who shuttled the ball on to Callum O’Hare. The midfielder cleverly ferried it on to Campbell, who fired home across goal.

United’s frustration at half-time was that they had not made more of their dominance and the home side’s defensive fragility. Danny Ings was brilliantly denied by Ethan Horvath in Wednesday’s goal after Dominic Iorfa’s awful pass across his own box had let the former England striker in.

Iorfa then came to his own rescue after misjudging a long punt from the United goalkeeper, Michael Cooper – a fine recovering tackle denied Campbell another run at goal. Before the break Ings swept home from close range but the effort was ruled out by the tightest of offside calls.

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Sheffield United players acknowledge the away support while the Wednesday fans vacate the stands. Photograph: Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Getty Images

Seconds after the restart, Campbell slashed into the side-netting but barely a minute later the striker did finally double the advantage. Another poor Wednesday clearance was met by Sydie Peck, and the England Under-21 midfielder’s first-time pass sent Campbell scurrying away once more. This time he calmly finished past Horvath.

That was the cue for a stop-start second half, with the Owls dominating possession and territory without creating anything by way of threat, Max Lowe’s rather forlorn effort from distance the sole moment of note. “We lost to a better team today,” said Pedersen.

Indeed the Blades should have added emphasis – “It could have been a lot more,” said Campbell slightly ruefully – before Cannon’s drive from the edge of the box with the seconds ticking down. It was only the striker’s second goal since his £10m move from Leicester in January, the 22-year-old having struggled with injuries and form since his move. Indeed he missed a one-v-one chance moments earlier. “Hopefully that will lighten the load on him,” said Wilder.

For Wednesday the focus remains on the forthcoming takeover and the vision of the future that will bring. “It’s everything,” said Pedersen. “We need clarity here before we can take the next step.”