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Drogheda, who began their Premier Division campaign with a disappointing 2-0 defeat at the hands of Derry City on Friday night, held their own in the early stages.
Declan O’Brien and Tony Bird – both of whom sat out the league opener due to suspension – had chances of beating veteran Leeds netminder Kevin Pressman, while Brian Deane and Julian Joachim came close to breaking the deadlock at the other end.
The Coca-Cola Championship side took the lead 11 minutes before half-time, a long ball from Kelly flicked on by Deane for Joachim to finish past home keeper Tony O’Dowd. (O’Dowd was one of three ex-Leeds players in the Drogheda side, joining defenders Damian Lynch and Derek Tyrrell in going into battle with his former club.)
Bird had a chance to level just before the break but he was unable to keep his header on the target.
However, the Drogs equalised within a minute of the restart, Alan Reilly stepping up to slam the ball past Pressman after a foul on O’Brien by Leeds’ Gylfi Einarsson.
Both sides came close to a winner, with Joachim testing Drogs replacement keeper Dan Connor and home substitute Mark Leech forcing Pressman into a smart save before the end.
Kelly’s time on the pitch came to an end at the break, when he was replaced by Republic of Ireland under-17 star Robert Bayly.
Drogheda United: O’Dowd (Connor, 45), Lynch, Tyrrell (Gartland, 45), Gray (Malcolm, 45), Sandvliet, Robinson, Ristila (Hartnett, 80), Bradley (Rooney, 59), Reilly (Freeman, 67), O’Brien, Bird (Leech, 45).
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Leeds United: Pressman, Kelly (Bayly, 45), Carlisle, Kilgallon, Pugh, Wright (Gray, 70), Spring, Johnson, Einarsson (Woods, 60), Deane (Wright, 84), Joachim.
Referee: I. Stokes (Dublin).