Fan’s Panel’s Tim Mercer frustrated by Preston North End only taking a point

This was North End’s third home draw on the trot and as such leaves us firmly in mid-table territory.

Momentarily it felt like a ‘winning draw’ but the feeling did not last as long as it did in the comeback against Sheffield United in the previous home game.

Such a pity, as this fan walked into the ground with a feeling that three points was going to be the order of the day; especially after the level of performance I had witnessed in the Black Country only three days earlier.

To be frank, the team were dreadful in the first half, looking tired and out of sorts, and with many sloppy passes going astray. The Robins deservedly took the lead inside the 15-minute mar.

The second period kicked-off with an unsurprising double substitution by manager Ryan Lowe. For me it made sense to bring on Josh Earl in place of Greg Cunningham as a more attacking left wing-back and for Ali McCann to replace an off-colour Ryan Ledson as the disruptive midfielder.

The improvement was immediate and led to Riis’ first goal and equalise. Debutant Cameron Archer looks like the real deal and will become a crowd favourite if he continues to unsettle defences as he did here.

The real blow came inside the last 10 minutes of normal time with another quality goal by the visitors.

And so the drama was set for that stunning Riis volley from an excellent Brad Potts cross in the dying seconds of stoppage time. From our viewpoint in the opposite side of the ground, the pass on the break by Alan Browne looked to be beyond Potts.

Somehow Potts got to it and scenes of another jubilant comeback followed, albeit tinged with some disappointment.