Preston North End found a way not to beat Plymouth Argyle - it will hurt but help Paul Heckingbottom

Paul Heckingbottom just wanted to watch the game back as quickly as possible, after his Preston North End side surrendered a 3-0 lead at Plymouth Argyle on Saturday. When he gets round to doing so, he will see many, many good things from his team - plenty of his post-match thoughts will be justified. He’ll also have to resist driving his fist through the screen; head into the keyboard.

Football never fails to surprise you and if there is any team in the Championship that likes to do this, it is Plymouth Argyle. My word, though, this was a day when the Lilywhites just looked to have too much. The Home Park side went until the very end and took something from a game that seemed long, long gone. They deserve credit for doing that. But North End will, and rightly so, be absolutely kicking themselves.

Perhaps Preston's dominance on the day actually worked against them, in the end. A little bit too comfortable; a few too many glorious, golden opportunities to score. Oh well, there will be another in a minute or two. Hold your horses, this is a stage where you are never safe. It is never done until it is done here. PNE's players were reminded of that in brutal fashion, but they shouldn’t have needed to be.

There have been a few moments in the Heckingbottom era so far, which you feel may be looked on in time. Some good, some bad. Preston were both of those things in Plymouth, but the feeling was only one post-match. The pain and disbelief was a result of PNE's superiority, mind. This should've been the away win monkey off their back; it cannot be far away.

North End scored three goals on the day - the second and third were a joy to watch. The fact they were still incredibly wasteful, shows how many opportunities came along. It is inconceivable that a team can be as wide open as Plymouth were on Saturday - and still pick up a point in the Championship. This is supposed to be a ruthless league; Preston didn't land the killer blow.

And boy, did they pay the price. The footballing equivalent of Tyson Fury climbing off the canvas against Wladimir Klitschko. In the away dressing room, this will have felt like a defeat. For the vast majority of the game, PNE protected Freddie Woodman's net admirably. What a way to throw all of that work away; you've simply got to go until the very end.

Freddie Issaka quicker to the ball, Andre Gray unmarked and a basic cross not dealt with in the 92nd minute - resulting in Morgan Whittaker, who had been kept so, so quiet, being allowed to shoot on that lethal left foot. Still, the eventual effort could've been kept out. North End only had themselves to blame. And yet, maybe these afternoons were always going to be in the script.

Preston have undoubtedly improved under the stewardship of Heckingbottom - who has players and supporters firmly on board with him. He has all the vibes of the manager they desperately needed. But, in his own words, he came into the job with his eyes wide open - and knew there were imperfections to fix. While North End are now an engaging watch, that was never going to be achieved in two months.

Losing points in Saturday's manner is excruciating, but it wasn't long ago quite a lot of people were feeling nothing at all. You can't imagine there will be that emptiness anytime soon. Heckingbottom is getting much more out of this squad, but it was always going to take time for him to truly make his mark on it. This season will feel like a dress rehearsal at times. The frustration of Saturday was that it never felt like being one of those days. Until it really did.