Dave Seddon's verdict: Norwich City 2 Preston North End 2 - returning fans witness an impressive away display from the Lilywhites

The Lilywhites’ long trek to Norfolk was one of seven games in the EFL on Saturday used as a pilot for the return of fans, six months after the turnstiles were locked.

Since June, matches have been played in empty grounds and there’s no denying that a spark has been missing.

It definitely felt to me that even with the limited numbers at Norwich, that provided a bit more of an edge to this contest.

North End played very well against a Canaries side just down from the Premier League and who are tipped by many to make a swift return to the top flight.

They went on the front foot, pressed high on their hosts and twice held the lead.

The only disappointment was they couldn’t hold on to the lead either time, Norwich’s second equaliser coming just five minutes from time.

It was a much improved performance from that put in during the opening-day defeat against Swansea.

I’d say it was a notch higher too than how they played at Derby last Tuesday night, even if they didn’t bring a victory home with them.

Darnell Fisher didn’t pass up the chance to entertain those lucky enough to be in the stadium.

The PNE right-back was the pantomime villain to the Norwich faithful.

Not only did he pick this game to score his first goal in Preston colours more than three years after signing, he did his best to get the locals riled and annoyed.

Fisher does play on the edge at times, knowing how to win free-kicks and slow the game down if needs-be.

He likes a yellow card too, booked in this game for a foul on Onel Hernandez.

It was that caution which got the Norwich fans booing, Fisher taking great delight in going over to celebrate near them when he scored a few minutes later.

That Fisher goal, only the second of his senior career, had restored PNE’s lead just before half-time.

A penalty from Scott Sinclair put them in front inside quarter of an hour, before Declan Rudd let a Teemu Pukki header slip through his gloves for the equaliser.

North End held the lead given to them by Fisher until the 85th minute when some late Norwich pressure paid off, again there being a touch of good fortune about the goal from a Norwich perspective as the ball pinged around the Preston box before the top-knotted Przemyslaw Placheta found the net.

As an away performance, this was up there with what North End have produced for a while despite them having to be content with just a point.

From the off they played a high press, led by Sean Maguire and Alan Browne.

Until lunchtime before the game Maguire wasn’t even going to start, Jayden Stockley having been given the task of leading the attack.

But Covid protocol because his daughter had displayed symptoms meant a late change of plan and a taxi home for Stockley.

Instead Maguire played as the No.9, backed-up by Browne behind him who has looked so much more at home in that role than he did at right-back against Swansea.

The visitors’ best player though, was undoubtedly Ryan Ledson.

Picked again next to Ben Pearson in midfield, he was excellent.

After two seasons of being deputy for Pearson, it seems Alex Neil has found Ledson a role of his own.

He patrolled deep with Pearson at Norwich but was given the freedom to push forward and join-in with the forward play.

His pass to find Sinclair in the build-up to Fisher’s goal was slide-rule stuff, done with a natural eye for it.

On the balance of the play, I thought PNE deserved more than their point.

Yes, they did come under more and more pressure as the second half went on and at times made it hard work for themselves in clearing their lines at the back.

But going toe-to-toe with the hosts and not sitting back saw them create 16 chances over the course of the game, six of them on target.

They do need another striker, although this wasn’t necessarily a day of missed gilt-edged chances.

Where another striker here would have been useful was to give Maguire a breather later in the game.

He covered plenty of ground along the forward line but in the latter stages North End couldn’t get the ball to stick up front when they needed to relieve the pressure.

With Stockley on his way home, Maguire was the only out-and-out striker available.

In the end, two of the three substitutions made in a triple change by Neil were defensive ones. Ben Davies has cramp in his hamstring and came off, with Browne also struggling by then with a tight calf muscle.

Joe Rafferty came off too as PNE switched to three at the back to try and hold Norwich at bay – Andrew Hughes, Jordan Storey and Brad Potts joining the fray.

North End’s bright start to the game was rewarded by them taking a 14th minute, Davies getting a push in the back from Oliver Skipp as he rose to meet Rafferty’s corner.

Sinclair rolled the penalty low into the net, keeper Tim Krul going the wrong way.

Pukki’s equaliser saw him meet a cross with a header which Rudd looked to have covered but let slip through his hands as he dived next to the near post.

The big moment for Fisher came two minutes before the interval, PNE working the ball down the left before Browne fed it to Ledson.

His pass split the Norwich defence to release Sinclair in the box. His shot across the fact of goal hit Ben Godfrey’s chest and fell into the path of Fisher who drove home a shot.

The hosts pulled it back late on, Max Aarons’ cross looping off Patrick Bauer and falling to Placheta. His first shot was blocked by Bauer but the substitute dispatched the second past a helpless Rudd.