United youngsters produced what coach Kevin Fogg described as 'the best all-round performance of the season' in Saturday's draw against Everton at Finch Farm.

The Blades' effort drew praise from Toffees coach Neil Dewsnip, who unearthed the likes of Wayne Rooney and Jack Rodwell.

The visitors, who handed debuts to U16s Connor Martin and Danny Deakin, kicked with a strong wind at their backs in the first half and looked a threat going forward, with Pomares particularly dangerous from set-pieces.

Lammy, Slew and Pennycooke-Morgan were all working hard down the flanks, with Wilkinson at his industrious best. It was from the midfielder's free-kick that Kennedy headed against the woodwork as United looked the more likely to open the scoring before the interval.

The Toffees came out of the traps quickly in the second half as the Blades prepared for an onslaught, now kicking against the wind, and Billard made excellent saves to deny Orenuga and Murphy. Forrester did have the ball in the net for the hosts, but he was adjudged to have been in an offside position.

At the other end Wilkinson continued to dictate proceedings for the Blades, whilst Deakin and Martin were also impressive after replacing Gregory and Ahmadi.

Coach Kevin Fogg was delighted with the commitment of his troops and admitted he left Merseyside feeling proud of the youngsters:

"It was the best performance of the season and it was pleasing to get Connor and Danny on for the last 20 minutes. In the end we were slightly disappointed not to win the game against a really strong Everton team, who got the quarter-finals of the FA Youth Cup earlier this season.

"Hopefully this result will give us the confidence to make sure we finish the season well."

Blades: Billard, O'Kane, Pomares, Wilkinson, Darlow, Kennedy, Lammy, Gregory (Martin 70), Slew, Ahmadi (Deakin 70), Pennycooke-Morgan.
Unused: Long.