Sheffield United will fancy their chances of reaching Wembley after Brian Howard's strike secured a 1-1 draw at Preston in the first leg of their Coca-Cola Championship play-off semi-final.

The Blades midfielder struck in clinical fashion just seconds into the second half to cancel out Sean St Ledger's 21st-minute opener.

A fast and furious encounter produced few genuine goalscoring opportunities but United would have won had substitute Craig Beattie not spurned two golden opportunities in the second half.

Deepdale erupted in the 21st minute when St Ledger grabbed his sixth goal of the season. The highly-rated centre-back, whose winning goal against QPR booked North End's play-off berth on a dramatic final day of the season, rifled home from close range following a deep free-kick from Billy Jones.

The equaliser came within seconds of the restart after Lonergan smothered a shot from Darius Henderson.

The ball was swiftly recycled by Ward and his right-wing cross was powerfully dispatched by Howard's fine volley from 10 yards.