ALEX Mathie became an instant hero last night as Preston pulled off an amazing second leg comeback at Deepdale to send First Division Sheffield United crashing out of the Worthington Cup second round.

Two goals from on-loan Mathie followed a sensational free-kick from Graham Alexander to book David Moyes' side a place in the third round.

Alexander's 25-yard effort had Blades keeper Simon Tracy well beaten, and Mathie levelled the aggregate scores by knocking in a low cross from Lee Cartwright on 56 minutes.

As extra time loomed, the ball fell kindly to Mathie again, who founded off his home debut by clipping home Preston's third to seal the tie.

Mathie was delighted to open his Deepdale account. "You've got to be more than happy with a start like this," he said. "I was tiring a little towards the end, but the goals gave me the boost I needed to carry on."

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