Preston 1 Sheffield United 1:A second-half goal from Brian Howard means Sheffield United will fancy their chances of reaching Wembley after they 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 Republic of Ireland Under-21 defender 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.

Monday’s decisive second leg at Bramall Lane will not be for the faint-hearted but Kevin Blackwell’s men more than matched their opponents physically and dominated the second period at Deepdale.

United — who failed to sell out their ticket allocation — threatened in the fifth minute when Darius Henderson crossed low from the left flank.

The ball reached Jamie Ward and he produced a delightful piece of skill to engineer the space to strike a low left-foot shot at Andy Lonergan.

The Preston goalkeeper made the first of several fine saves and the hosts threatened moments later when Neil Mellor fired a fierce shot goalwards but Howard threw himself in front of the ball to avert the danger.

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.

He was stood in an offside position when the ball came to him but it had been headed into his path by Blades midfielder Nick Montgomery so the goal rightly stood.

Yet Blackwell’s men fashioned an encouraging response and almost drew level in the 28th minute when Republic of Ireland midfielder Stephen Quinn slipped in behind the Preston defence and forced a fine save from Lonergan at his near post.

The Blades continued to probe but almost fell further behind in the 35th minute when Jon Parkin headed against a post from Ross Wallace’s corner.

However, the equaliser came within seconds of the restart after Lonergan smothered a shot from Henderson.

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

United appeared to lose Henderson to injury in the 55th minute but replacement Beattie wasted a golden opportunity to make his mark with a dreadful shot over the crossbar.

Three players were booked within the space of 10 second-half minutes as tensions mounted but Preston were grateful to Lonergan again with five minutes remaining when he parried Howard’s long piledriver before Lonergan denied Beattie from close range.

Meanwhile, Aaron Wilbraham’s opportunist strike midway through the first half ensured the MK Dons will go into the second leg of their League One play-off semi-final with Scunthorpe on an even keel.

The robust striker was in the right place at the right time to nod home a loose ball from a corner and claim his 17th goal of the season, cancelling out Martyn Woolford’s opener for the home side.

It was the least the Dons, who finished third in the League One table, deserved for their efforts at Glanford Park. They were the most composed and dangerous side throughout, despite some belated Scunthorpe pressure as the game wore on.