RONNIE Jepson hailed his battling reserves after ten men held out for a draw at Sheffield United last night.

Keeper Luigi Cennamo saw red midway through the second half and Jepson said: "I have no complaints about the dismissal.

"It was a ball over the top and to be fair Luigi stood up big and brave but the ball hit his arm and under the rules that is a sending off.

"Young James Salisbury came in and the first thing he had to do was make a good save from the free kick.

"He was a bit nervous but he did well for us and he will get a full game now because Luigi will have a one match ban."

Jepson was forced to chop and change a couple of times throughout the match as two of the club's promising young players suffered injuries.

"Earl Davis strained his groin and Joel Pilkington got a dead leg," explained Jepson. "But the good news was that Branchy (Graham Branch) came through another 90 minutes okay and Lennie Johnrose also played the full game."

Despite maintaining his unbeaten record as a manager Jepson was not as happy with the display as in recent weeks.

"I didn't think we passed the ball that well and it was more of a dogged performance," he said. "They scored late on to stop us winning but it was a competitive night with seven bookings and two red cards."

The second dismissal was in the dying minutes when Paul Devlin, the Blades experienced winger, was sent off for retaliating against Johnrose.

"They had a strong side out but we have got some good players as well," said Jepson. "Our goal was another good one, Joel Pilkington making a great break into the box and Mark Rasmussen supplying the cross for John Williamson to score.

"We didn't play with as much attacking flair as we have been but we did battle hard."

Jepson will be hoping for a better display when Port Vale visit Turf Moor next Wednesday.