Late goals, most of them in their favour, have been littered throughout Leeds United’s season, so it was little surprise that they booked their progress to the Coca-Cola League One play-offs final courtesy of a decisive goal in injury time.

Jonathan Howson, who had wiped out their first-leg arrears with an early strike, doubled his tally in the 91st minute. The teenager capped a memorable performance by beating Keiren Westwood, the goalkeeper, with a low left-foot shot from the edge of the area. It gave Carlisle, who had been running on empty for the last ten minutes of the match, no time to mount a riposte.

As so often during the nine-month campaign, Leeds finished the stronger side, and Bradley Johnson, the stand-in left back, gave notice of their intentions to avoid extra time, when he rose well to meet a Neil Kilkenny corner, only to see his effort bounce to safety off a post in the 78th minute.

Carlisle had chances of their own in the second half, Danny Graham, the forward, heading straight at Casper Ankergren, before Marc Bridge-Wilkinson delayed just enough for his shot to be blocked after fine work down the left from Simon Hackney. However, they were rare efforts as Leeds gradually exerted their dominance to secure a merited victory.

Seven years on from unsuccessfully contesting a place in the Champions League final with Valencia, the prize on offer to Leeds may have been more modest in the form of a Wembley meeting against either Doncaster Rovers or Southend United for a place in the Coca-Cola Championship on Sunday week. However, that will matter little to Gary McAllister and his players as they took their latest step towards football redemption with a display which bristled with character.

After surviving strong Carlisle claims for an early penalty, Leeds soon recovered to level the aggregate scores with their first threatening attack. Scott Dobie went to ground under an uncompromising challenge from Lubomir Michalik, the Leeds defender, but Alan Wiley, who was well-positioned, ruled the challenge fair. The visiting team made the most of their apparent escape, as Howson, the Leeds-born midfield player who celebrates his twentieth birthday on Wednesday, confidently broke the deadlock on nine minutes. After an exchange of passes with Dougie Freedman, Howson dispatched his fourth goal of the season low and left-footed past Westwood from ten yards.

Freedman’s movement provided the Carlisle defence with constant problems and the Scot came close to doubling Leeds’s advantage shortly after the half-hour, when he pounced on a weak backward header from Evan Horwood only to see his effort well blocked by an alert Westwood, who was by far the busier of the goal-keepers.

It was first-half stoppage time before Ankergren, Westwood’s opposite number, was called upon, the Dane halting with his feet a powerful low shot from Bridge-Wilkinson after the midfield player had latched on to a flick by Graham.

Carlisle United (4-4-1-1:) K Westwood - D Raven, D Livesey, P Murphy, E Horwood - S Dobie, C Lumsdon, G Smith, S Hackney - M Bridge-Wilkinson - D Graham.

Substitutes not used: C Howarth, P Arnison, P Thirlwell, C Taylor, G Madine.

Leeds United (4-4-2): C Ankergren – F Richardson, L Michalik, P Huntington, B Johnson - N Kilkenny, J Douglas, J Howson, D Prutton - D Freedman, J Beckford.

Substitutes not used: D Lucas, R Marques, S Carole, T Kandol, A Hughes.

Referee: A Wiley.