Notts County's Under 18s started their EFL Youth Alliance Northern Cup campaign with a 1-1 draw at Chesterfield.
The young Magpies, who have also been drawn alongside Port Vale and Wrexham in the group stage, had Remaye Campbell to thank after he cancelled out the hosts' second-half opener.
Head of academy coaching Dan Leivers said of the performance: "I was really pleased with the reaction from the lads as we didn't play our best football last week. We have been solid and organised most of the time but have struggled to keep the ball.
"Today, on a really nice playing surface, we moved it a lot better and with a few tweaks to the starting line up we've started to get a bit more from some of our players.
"The target today was to go out and win the game, just like any other fixture, but it was also important to not be beaten in our first game in this competition. We play Port Vale and then Wrexham in our group, so what we didn't want to be doing was chasing points in the other two games after a loss today.
"At 1-0 down that could have been the case but as always this side gave everything - and they got the result they deserved in the end after Remaye's equaliser.
"That's four games unbeaten now but also three draws on the bounce, so we need to keep improving and turn these into wins. As people will be aware from last year, our division is so tight, there are no easy game. Next week is probably the hardest fixture we have against Oldham away from home.
"One great positive from today was introducing 14-year-old Jack Bearne into the team. Jack is a fantastic talent, which I've known since I arrived at this club nearly seven years age. Watching him develop has been a pleasure.
"He came on for the last 30 minutes today and at times he lights it up. He's a real prospect and I'm sure fans will see him feature even more for us in the coming games this season."
Notts line-up: Searson-Smithard, Cobain (Anstey 60'), Dunn, Brownhill (C), Richards, McCartney, Clayton-Naute, Howes, Campbell (Robinson 80'), Osborne, Gibbons (Bearne 60')
Subs not used: Towers, Hall