Ex-Preston North End duo reach play-off final as former Deepdale boss suffers heartbreak

Two former Preston North End players could feature in this month’s League One play-off final, between Oxford United and Bolton Wanderers.

Des Buckingham’s side drew 1-1 at Peterborough United in Wednesday’s semi-final second leg - to run out 2-1 winners on aggregate. The Us led courtesy of Elliott Moore’s first leg strike, and Cameron Brannagan equalised away from home - after Josh Knight had levelled the tie for Posh. One man who played 90 minutes of both games was former North End man, Josh Murphy.

The ex-Cardiff and Norwich City man played 12 games for PNE in the 2021/22 season, but saw his loan spell at the club cut short by boss Ryan Lowe. But, under Des Buckingham, the 29-year-old has found his feet at Oxford and played a key role in their promotion push - with six goals and four assists. Another ex-Lilywhite who could grace Wembley - on Saturday, 18 May - is Billy Bodin.

The Welshman is in his third season at the Kassam Stadium and has scored five goals this campaign. Bodin came off the bench in the first leg, but was an unused substitute in midweek. The Us will now look to reach the second tier, for the first time since 1998/99. Victory for Oxford inflicted heartbreak on former PNE manager, Darren Ferguson. It’s consecutive League One play-off semi-final defeats for the 52-year-old - whose side finished fourth in the table.