​John Smith column: Performance against the Baggies has given me optimism for future

I couldn't see any light at the end of the dark tunnel we have been in which has been the story of our wretched season so far.

The optimism I had felt after the initial appointment of two club legends Graham Alexander and Chris Lucketti had soon disappeared. It felt after these two dismal defeats that like the Titanic the good ship Deepdale had already hit the iceberg before the new management team had not even had time to rearrange the deck chairs.

A few minutes after I took my seat prior to kick off I looked around at the other already rain-soaked fans sat in the stands.

Was their presence there in the atrocious weather conditions due to their remarkable dedication or just down to plain insanity?

In truth they were simply doing what the hard core of PNE fans always do which is to just turn up regardless.

With Albion riding high in the table just behind the leagues early pace setters I was expecting a tough game.

We had hardly scored at home this season and had conceded more goals than any other team in the division having not kept a clean sheet for a whopping 26 league matches.

Although Albion had the majority of possession i we battled well to go into the interval goalless. The performance pleased an enthusiastic crowd who warmly applauded the players first half efforts as they disappeared down the tunnel for their half time break.

The manner in which we had pressed and "got stuck in" displayed some of the same type of grit and determination I had seen here during the playing days of our new management team in their heyday.

When the high winds and rains of Storm Boelo increased after the interval it felt that like in The Wizard of Oz film our home had also gone over the rainbow and landed in a fantasy world.

Not only did we remain in the game but went on to become the dominant side which gave me the feeling that I wasn't at Deepdale anymore but instead had gone back in time to a place I'd not been for a long time where the roar of the crowd gives you that buzzing feeling which makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

When man-of-the-match Andrew Hughes, who I thought had revelled in the role of deputy captain, put us ahead Deepdale took off.

Despite the cold and rain when the whole crowd began to sing together in unison my warm feeling inside gave me a glow all around my body similar to those of the kids walking to school in the rain in the Ready Brek adverts of the 1970s and 80s.

On another day we would have gone home with a well deserved three points had one of two strong late penalty appeals been awarded or even if the ball which came off the post for Albion’s equaliser would have rebounded more favourably .

Reflecting on the game as I walked home, it felt more like a win than a draw although we desperately did need a win.

Unfortunately, lately this has not been the case all that often.

The result gives the management team something to build on and if the same effort and determination can continue there might even soon be "no place like home" for the Deepdale faithful.