Mansfield Town 1-1 Leeds United under 23s: Whites advance in Premier League Cup as Andy Taylor era begins

Centre-back Joe Littlewood finished off a clever corner routine to equalise for Leeds after the Whites were overrun by the hosts for the opening hour.

Mansfield took the lead through Danny Johnson on the half hour mark as the Whites came under the cosh on a sunny afternoon in Nottinghamshire.

The Stags' 1-0 lead was not enough to take them through, and the Midlands side were aggressive in pursuit of a second but Leeds held on.

On his first game in charge, Under 23s boss Andy Taylor made decisive substitutions, as Mateo Joseph quickly gave a boost to the visitors' attack after he was brought on midway through the second half.

After earning a point in Mansfield, Leeds end Group E in second place and advance to the next round of the competition, when they'll face West Ham United.

The game got off to a scrappy start, with passes going astray on both sides. With possession changing hands quickly, chances were few and far between, with long range efforts at either end from Jaden Charles and Max Dean, each whistling past the posts, the closest either team came to taking a lead in the early stages.

Johnson squandered a huge chance to put the hosts ahead in the 27th minute. Nathan Caine escaped the challenge of Joe Snowdon to play through the Stags' forward. Advancing on the six yard box with just Dani van den Heuvel to beat, Johnson put the ball wide.

Minutes later, Johnson corrected his error. Caine and Jason Law linked up nicely on the edge of the box and Law played a neat ball through to Johnson, who made no mistake this time, tucking the ball past van den Heuvel to open the scoring for the home side.

Leeds were put under increasing pressure as the half went on. Mansfield forced mistakes by pressing high but couldn't extend their lead, with the scoreline 1-0 at half time.

The Whites struggled in the early stages of the second half as Mansfield kept them penned into their own half.

Liam McCarron created a dangerous opportunity around the hour mark, wiggling past three Mansfield players on the left flank to find space in the box. One on one with Stages 'keeper Marek Stech, McCarron opted to shoot, though several of his teammates were waiting in the box. His shot flew over the bar.

The introduction of Joseph in the 68th gave an instant boost to the Whites' attack. The Spaniard linked up nicely with Dean to win a corner for Leeds. McKinstry delivered it low into the box, with Dean flicking it on to United centre back Littlewood who poked it home to equalise.

Leeds looked visibly confident after the leveller as Mansfield were forced to chase the game to keep hopes of cup progress alive. The hosts' chances were limited to another long range effort by Charles.

From a Whites corner Leeds came agonisingly close to grabbing a winner with a pair of big chances. After Stech palmed the corner away, Allen hooked the ball across him toward the top corner but it glanced just over the bar. From the following goal kick, Leeds claimed possession and found Dean in space in the box, but the striker's effort went wide.

Leeds United XI v Mansfield: van den Heuvel, Sutcliffe, Littlewood, Moore, McCarron (72 - Carole), Jenkins, Snowdon, McKinstry, Allen, Miller (68 - Joseph), Dean.

Leeds unused subs: Christy, Coleman, Hughes.

Mansfield XI: Stech, Charles, Perch, Collins, Wauchope, Wallace (75 - Davies), Carter, Law, Johnson, Scott (87 - Deakin), Caine (70 - Kruszynski).

Mansfield unused subs: Mason, Pitt.

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