Eoghan Stokes stepped off the bench to rescue a point for our Under-21s in Friday afternoon’s 1-1 draw away to Sheffield United.

Stokes, a second-half replacement for Alex Mowatt, struck a fine 78th-minute equaliser at the home of Stocksbridge Park Steels to ensure the spoils would be shared despite a dominant display from the Leeds youngsters.

Mowatt, captaining the side for the Professional Development League 2 clash, completed just over an hour of the game as he pushes for a return to the senior squad for Monday night’s Sky Bet Championship visit of Middlesbrough.

The midfielder, who turns 21 on Saturday, has recently been sidelined with a thigh injury sustained in the second half of January’s defeat away to Sheffield Wednesday.

Fellow first-teamers Lee Erwin, Jordan Botaka, Casper Sloth and Kalvin Phillips were also named in Paul Hart’s starting line-up, and it was Erwin who had the game’s first real chance as Blades goalkeeper Jake Eastwood pushed away his close-range header from Botaka’s cross.

But it was the home side who opened the scoring after just nine minutes, with David Brooks finding the net from distance following a mix-up in the Leeds defence.

The visitors looked to mount a quick response, though, and Mowatt saw his strike charged down before young striker Frank Mulhern skipped his way into the penalty area to force Eastwood into a smart save at the near post.

Botaka and Phillips also threatened, with Eastwood denying the pair with fine saves in quick succession, before Eric Grimes was called into action at the opposite end to thwart Connor Hall after the Blades striker was threaded in on goal.

Mowatt then exchanged passes with Mulhern before firing over on the stroke of half-time, as the opening 45 minutes drew to a close with the Blades taking their slender lead into the break.

The second half saw Mowatt withdrawn on the 63rd-minute mark - as pre-planned - to be replaced by Stokes, while Tyler Denton made way for Jake Skelton in defence.

The Leeds youngsters continued to press for an equaliser and it was Irish forward Stokes who eventually managed to grab one 12 minutes from time, finding the bottom corner with a well-executed 25-yard strike.

Sloth and Erwin both threatened a late winner as Leeds pushed forward, but the Blades managed to hold firm as the spoils were shared.

Under-21s team: Grimes, Purver, P McKay, Vann, Denton (Skelton 65), Phillips, Sloth, Mowatt (Stokes 63), Botaka, Mulhern, Erwin. Subs not used: Lyman, Parkin, J McKay.