Dave Seddon's verdict: Barnsley 2 Preston North End 1 - an opportunity missed by PNE at Oakwell

They led the contest from inside the second minute through to the early stages of the second half when the hosts equalised.

Slack defending then let in Barnsley for their winner 10 minutes from time.

North End weren’t great on the night but were better than they had been at Luton last Saturday.

On the balance of play and chances they should have brought a point back from South Yorkshire.

The fact they led for a decent period of the game and could – and should – have doubled that advantage before half-time supports that theory.

Barnsley’s equaliser was a bit of quality from Alex Mowatt although he had too much time to sweep his shot into the net.

Their winner, however, was preventable and certainly had Alex Neil bristling.

Going back to North End taking the lead, that has traditionally been the cue to secure at least a point.

This was only the third time in Neil’s reign that they had lost a game from a winning position.

On New Year’s Day 2018, they held a 2-1 lead against Middlesbrough and lost 3-2. Then last season, the Lilywhites went 1-0 up at Swansea and lost by the same scoreline.

So to see them let the advantage slip was something of a surprise, even in a season when their form is all over the place.

The away form has been the saviour this campaign, so to have now lost two on their travels in a row, is rather concerning.

It makes getting something from Bristol City at Deepdale on Friday night of utmost importance to settle things down and calm the restlessness which has set in among the fanbase.

The faithful simply aren’t seeing any consistency from their side this season and the thinking of most fans at the moment is to look at what is behind them in the table rather than peering upwards.

Both sides approached this game in a similar manner in that neither wanted to be pressed coming out from the back, hence the ball spent a lot of time in the air.

The statistics show that PNE played 132 long balls and the Tykes 83.

It was Emil Riis and Sean Maguire trying to get on the end of them for 67 minutes, then briefly Tom Barkhuizen and Scott Sinclair, before it was left to Jayden Stockley.

One of those direct balls set up Riis for a great chance on the stroke of half-time.

It wasn’t dealt with well by the Barnsley backline, the Dane got through on goal but put a shot too close to the keeper when a short square pass would have left Daniel Johnson with an open goal.

That would have made it 2-0. As it was, North End only took a one-goal advantage into the break and saw it eroded and beaten in the second half.

Neil chose a 3-4-1-2 system, who would be playing where only becoming clear once the game kicked off.

Ben Davies was the one recognised centre-half, with Darnell Fisher and Andrew Hughes either side of him.

In came Josh Earl to play at left wing-back, his first league start for PNE since April 2019 on Gentry Day at West Bromwich Albion.

Earl played well, the best of the bunch in my humble opinion.

Things started well, less than two minutes played when PNE nosed ahead.

Paul Gallagher swung over a corner from the left which flew off the head of Barnsley’s Cauley Woodrow and dropped to Maguire at the far post who stooped to head it goalwards.

Keeper Jack Walton clawed it out but Hawkeye signalled the ball had crossed the line. There was a brief check then between referee and assistant to check Woodrow had got the flick on, hence Maguire wasn't offside.

Barnsley’s leveller was a good one, even though Mowatt had the time to exchange passes with Callum Styles just outside the box before bending a left-foot finish across Declan Rudd.

Earl had a double chance to restore the lead, Barkhuizen's low cross from the right finding him in the box. His first shot hit the keeper's legs then with his weaker right foot he lifted the rebound just over the bar.

Neil changed strikers not too long after, Riis and Maguire going off with Sinclair coming on to partner Barkhuizen who was moved up front from the right wing-back slot - Joe Rafferty slotting in there.

I thought Maguire was getting a bit of joy, hence a surprise to see that particular element of the double change.

Sinclair and Barkhuizen were not given much to chase in behind, then Stockley joined the fray instead of Barkhuizen. Again, it brought PNE no reward

Victor Adeboyejo, on as a substitute, got the winner in the 80th minute after PNE switched off and allowed the hosts to take a quick free-kick. The ball was worked forward, Woodrow sliding the ball through for Adeboyejo to find the far corner with a left-foot shot.

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