Sheffield United boss Kevin Blackwell hailed the mental strength of his players after they claimed a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final at Preston.

Blades midfielder Brian Howard struck in clinical fashion just seconds into the second half to cancel out Sean St Ledger's 21st-minute opener and give his side a thoroughly deserved share of the spoils.

"Our performance over 90 minutes was outstanding in a stadium that's quite hostile," said Blackwell.

"Having gone 1-0 down I think quite a few clubs would have crumbled but the players showed such mental strength.

"I think you can always want more but if you had said to me when I got on the bus at Bramall Lane that we'd come back with a 1-1 draw I'd have been quite happy.

"I thought our performance was absolutely first class tonight and we created some great chances."