It was a case of ‘déjà vu’ for Rovers, as they conceded in the 95th minute in consecutive games, as Preston North End somehow salvaged a point that kept their playoff ambitions alive and left Rovers wondering ‘what might have been’.
Jon Dahl Tomasson made four changes from the team that were pegged back in dramatic fashion by Coventry City in the midweek 1-1 draw, as Harry Pickering, Tyler Morton, Sorba Thomas and Tyrhys Dolan all came into the side, with Callum Brittain, Ryan Hedges and Ben Brereton Díaz dropped to the bench, whilst Sam Gallagher was ruled out due to injury.
With 4,932 away fans roaring loudly and proudly in the Bill Shankly Kop End, it was Rovers who got the ball rolling via Sammie Szmodics, who was making his 300th career appearance. The Blues were hoping to earn a third consecutive Deepdale victory, to boost their playoff ambitions, after winning during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons.
A cagey start to the game saw the first opportunity of the derby fall to the hosts, as after Rovers nervously tried to build from the back, possession was soon turned over as Everton loanee, Tom Cannon tried a swivel attempt after six minutes, but his attempt dribbled past the far-post, much to Aynsley Pears’ delight.
Four minutes later, Rovers broke forwards on the break as Sorba Thomas looked to find Tyrhys Dolan at the back-post, but the former Preston North End academy graduate’s attempt was blocked by his former club.
Rovers were looking incredibly threatening on the counter-attack, as they broke forwards with Dolan who found Szmodics. The number eight did well to swivel and slip in Joe Rankin-Costello, who was Rovers’ most advanced player on the edge of the area, but the midfielder-turned-right-back’s left-footed effort from the edge of the area was well-saved by Freddie Woodman.
Manchester United loanee, Álvaro Fernández began a fine move in the 26th minute when he picked out opposite wing-back Brad Potts, but the certain winner of Preston’s Goal of the Season competition, who hit a perfect half-volley at Kenilworth Road against Luton Town, didn’t match his previous attempts as his effort ended up with the travelling fans behind Pears’ goal.
As both sides continued to battle for possession, Rovers thought they took the lead after some good build-up which culminated in Tyrhys Dolan feeding Sammie Szmodics who found the back of the net, yet their celebrations were short-lived after the assistant’s flag against Dolan cut short any Rovers delight in the 40th minute.
With one extra minute of added time allocated onto the end of the half by referee Robert Jones, Rovers were set for a nervy end to the first-half, as Tyrhys Dolan gave away a free-kick in a precarious position after he lost the ball inside his own half. Ben Whiteman and Daniel Johnson stood over the 25-yard set-piece as one-time Rovers target, Whiteman’s attempt at goal was punched away by Pears, before Rovers cleared as the closing whistle soon sounded.
The half-time break would have given both managers the time to try and revaluate their plans ahead of what would possibly be the biggest 45 minutes of either side’s season.
Ryan Lowe would have been happy with how his side had been at both ends of the field, yet he would have known that his side were capable of much more fluid play given their attacking quality. The former Plymouth Argyle attacker would have called upon his side to increase the tempo of their play and utilise the width they crated for themselves via the utilisation of the wing-backs.
Jon Dahl Tomasson’s feelings at the break would not have been too dissimilar to that of his counter-part, yet the Dane would have been agitated that his side had failed to test Freddie Woodman more than they had done. The boss would’ve called upon his side to stick to their principles and try and wear North End down with their ability to pass through the lines and cause uncertainty to the opposing backline.
Before play was restarted for the second-half, Jon Dahl Tomasson made a double change to bring more attacking impetus to Rovers’ second-half display. Ryan Hedges and Ben Brereton Díaz were introduced as Sorba Thomas and Tyrhys Dolan departed.
PNE got the game back underway as Robert Jones blew for the second-half to begin. Ryan Lowe’s side were looking to try and complete the double over Rovers for the first-time since 2018-19 and boost their own aspirations of finishing inside the top six of the Championship, at the expense of their county rivals.
Rovers utilised the cross-field switch a lot since the introduction of Ryan Hedges who did well to exploit the attacking tendencies of Brad Potts. In the 47th minute, Hedges looked to try and pick out Szmodics, but the defiant back-three of the hosts managed to cut the cross and clear the ball before Rovers tested Freddie Woodman.
The away side steamed forwards again in the 55th minute as Joe Rankin-Costello was slipped through but his left-footed effort was dragged wide of the far-post.
Four minutes later, the game’s first booking materialised as PNE skipper, Daniel Johnson was cautioned after he hacked down Hedges on halfway, as Rovers looked to start a dangerous counter-attack.
From the free-kick, Rovers built play up as Ben Brereton Díaz collected the ball just inside the Preston box and delivered a cross towards Sammie Szmodics. The tricky playmaker pulled an interesting stunt by punching the ball into the net, in an attempt to disguise it as a header, as the ball clattered in and dropped behind the line via the crossbar, as the North End defence all simultaneously appealed for a free-kick as a unapologetic Szmodics wheeled away in celebration. Despite his cheekiness, the goal was ruled out and the playmaker was booked as Preston restarted play via free-kick.
Szmodics was alive again in the 66th minute as he found Rankin-Costello on the edge of the area. The marauding right-back beat his man before firing a shot wide.
Preston North End’s first change of the game came three minutes after Rankin-Costello fired wide as Ali McCann replaced Daniel Johnson.
Aynsley Pears was called upon to keep the scores goalless in the 71st minute after Ben Whiteman found half an inch of space on the edge of the area and tried his luck with a low drive, but the goalkeeper did brilliantly to get down to his left and produce a save.
Minutes later, Rovers produced a fine move forwards as Hedges again proved an effective outball for Rovers as he was played in before cutting the ball back to Travis whose effort was blocked.
Preston’s second change of the day came in the 76th minute as Ben Woodburn replaced Patrick Bauer, as Preston moved from a five-back to a four-back in search of the opening goal.
The opener soon came five minutes later, but not to the hosts, as Rovers managed to force themselves ahead in the tight tie, courtesy of Sammie Szmodics who had seen two previous efforts ruled out earlier on in the tie. Tyler Morton won the ball back in his own half and found Adam Wharton via the tackle. The teenager fed Lewis Travis on halfway who steamed forwards with the ball, with Szmodics and Brereton Díaz for support. The former peeled away from his marker before Travis found him, which saw the former Peterborough United man through on goal. After cutting back onto his right-foot and sending his defender for a hot-dog, Szmodics dug out a fine curling finish past the outstretched glove of Woodman, before Brereton Díaz could steal the effort as 4,932 Rovers fans were sent wild behind the net for 1-0.
Preston retaliated to going a goal behind by making a third attacking change, as Manchester City loanee, Liam Delap, came on to replace Josh Onomah, with the hosts going for a three-pronged attack, with Cannon, Delap and Woodburn leading their line.
Joe Rankin-Costello was soon booked in the 84th minute for hauling down Woodburn.
In the 89th minute, Jon Dahl Tomasson made a double change that send frustrations across the visiting contingency, as Rovers switched to a five-back system after the introductions of Callum Brittain and Scott Wharton, with Tyler Morton and goalscorer, Sam Szmodics the pair who were replaced.
As the 90th minute ticked over, referee Robert Jones added five additional minutes onto the end of the game as Preston continued to push forwards in search of a late equaliser.
With the home side’s pressure mounting, Pears was again forced into making a save, this time to keep Rovers in the lead, as Ali McCann tried to divert the ball into the bottom corner, but the left-hand of Pears kept his clean-sheet intact.
94 minutes appeared on the clock as Rovers saw out another wave of Preston offence, before Adam Wharton released Ryan Hedges down the left-hand side. Rovers had won the ball back inside their own half and the teenager had set the substitute away, from inside his own half. The Welshman, who had the whole Preston half to himself broke forwards as white bodies trailed behind him before he faced up against Freddie Woodman. With the visiting support behind the goal anticipating the net to bulge, Hedges made a split-second decision which led to him attempting to chip the goalkeeper, but Woodman wasn’t fooled as the ball was chipped into his hands.
Woodman wasted no time in getting the ball forwards as his long ball downfield was flicked on by Brad Potts into the feet of Liam Delap. The substitute turned Scott Wharton, who had slipped on the turf, before breaking down the right-hand channel and delivering a low cross that saw Dom Hyam stick out a leg in an attempt to deflect it behind, yet the pace on the ball saw it deflect towards the near-post as Rovers’ misery was compounded by Pears being unable to deny Preston for the final time in the game, as the net bulged to North End delight, as the home contingency erupted at the sight of a leveller at 1-1, as the Rovers players in red all sunk to their knees at the realisation of what had just unfolded before their eyes.
Much to the dismay of the visiting support, after another brief North End attack which Rovers cleared, Robert Jones soon brought the game to an end, as again the visiting players slumped to their knees in realisation of what, effectively, two points dropped meant to their position on the league table.
It’s difficult to really summarise this game, given the late heartache suffered by everyone associated with Rovers and the colossal impact that this result could have during the final stages of the campaign. Although some have been quick to point the blame at Jon Dahl Tomasson for his switch to five-at-the-back, in reality, that alteration didn’t have as big of an impact on the game as it has done in previous ties. Furthermore, whilst one does not want to attribute blame to specific players, it is undeniable that better decision-making in the final moments of the tie would have secured the three points for Rovers.
With Rovers being the late kick-off, they knew where they stood both, at 5:30pm and come the full-time whistle. Yet, following Sunderland’s 2-1 win over West Bromwich Albion on Sunday, Rovers now find themselves 8th in the division with 65 points and a negative goal-difference of -2 from the 43 games they have played, as the Black Cats’ victory saw them occupy 6th spot despite matching Rovers’ points tally.
As the Rovers support still figure out how to recover, they will look to come out swinging in their next fixture as they face Champions-elect, Burnley at Ewood Park on Tuesday 25th April at 8pm, with the Blues looking to exact revenge on their bitter enemies, live on Sky Sports. Following an eruption in East Lancashire, Rovers again remain at Ewood Park for the visit of Luton Town on Monday 1st May at 5:30 pm as the already playoff-bound Hatters look to try and potentially kill Rovers’ hopes of joining them in the battle for promotion in mid-May. That tie will also be live on Sky Sports. The conclusion of the regular season is then wrapped up a week later, on Monday 8th May, when Rovers make the trip down south to end their campaign at The Den against Millwall, as Jon Dahl Tomasson and Gary Rowett potentially continue the fight for the final two playoff spaces in the most dramatic of fashions at 3pm.
