BURNLEY'S young guns showed true grit to grab a deserved draw in a thrilling clash with Carlisle.

The Clarets looked doomed when goals either side of half time put the Cumbrians well and truly in the driving seat in Friday's Youth Alliance game at Gawthorpe.

But after repeatedly hitting the woodwork, Alex Taylor finished well to give Terry Pashley's boys hope.

And in a dramatic finale, tall defender Neal Trotman snatched a deserved point with a last gasp, stoppage time header from Tom Ince's delivery.

Pashley said: "Every credit to the lads because they never gave up battling. it was a kick in the teeth to go 2-0 down - especially after hitting the post and seeing it twice bounce straight back into the goalkeepers arms.

"You start to think it's not going to be your day, but the boys stuck at it and I was delighted with the attitude of everyone involved.

"Even their manager came up to me at the end and said it would have been a travesty if we had got nothing out of the game."

Carlisle certainly edged the first half and grabbed the lead in injury time with a firm header that gave Michael Hale no chance.

Keeper Hale denied United three more times early in the second half, before finally being beaten by another firm header on 67 minutes.

But new boy Taylor struck seven minutes later to reduce the arrears and, after Rhys Carpenter struck the upright for the third time, Trotman finally grabbed the reward Burnley deserved to leave the Clarets with one win, a draw and three defeats from their opening five games.

Burnley: Hale, Heywood, Trotman, Pitham, Scott, Hanley (Henry), Avery, Preston, Ince, Carpenter, Taylor.