Preston North End 0-0 Bristol City as it happened: Iversen brilliance denies Mehmeti 95th minute winner

After a positive start to the season and run of lively home atmospheres against some of the fancied clubs, PNE manager Paul Heckingbottom called for the exact same approach from all involved against Bristol City. This is the kind of fixture Preston’s boss suspects has been allowed to pass by in recent times; North End made a reasonable start to the contest, but a flatness crept in as the first half progressed.

There was greater flow about the Robins, who produced the first meaningful effort of the match when Rob Atkinson’s snapshot, on the swivel, produced a reflex save from the reliable Daniel Iversen. Not long after, the Dane was called upon once again and came up with the goods. Anis Mehmeti, this time, drove into space and shot from 20 yards, forcing PNE’s number one to stop at full-stretch.

Having struggled to get going, a clear opening came out of nowhere for the Lilywhites to take the lead. However, after loan man Lewis Dobbin played the ball through to Milutin Osmajic, his heavy first touch saw the chance fade away. Just seconds after, Dobbin teed up Alfie Devine to strike on the right of the box but his effort was charged down by an aggressive Bristol City backline.

Iversen had been kept busy pretty much until Bobby Madley’s whistle. Mark Sykes saw a deflected cross dart towards the roof of the net, requiring the shot-stopper to tip it over. Jason Knight then called Iversen into action with a fizzed effort from distance. At the other end, Lewis Gibson’s first time effort from close range - after great work from Andrew Hughes - was kept out by Radek Vitek.

It was all to play for at the interval, though not without damage from a PNE point of view. Pol Valentin has been a bright spark since making the move from Sheffield Wednesday this summer; the Spaniard’s reaction, on the back of booming the ball behind for a corner, represented bad news. He hobbled off the pitch and straight down the tunnel, with the blow seemingly dealt to his hamstring.

Neither outfit flew out of the traps in the second half but as the hour mark approached, Gerhard Struber’s side looked certain to break the deadlock. Mehmeti, who has four league goals to his name already, was played clean through on goal but slotted his eventual effort wide of the bottom left corner - to the despair of the 1,300 or so travelling fans behind the net.

Osmajic, who had struggled to threaten in typical style, then saw his eyes lit up when a lofted pass forward broke his way. The Montenegro international watched the ball come down inside the box, but could only scuff his shot off target. Substitutes failed to make the desired impact and the match drifted towards a goalless draw, but only after a truly remarkable save - with 10 seconds to play - from Iversen to deny Mehmeti.

Attendance: 15,295 (1,300 away) PNE starting XI: Iversen; Storey, Gibson, Hughes, Valentin (Offiah 35’), Whiteman (c), McCann (Armstrong 63’), Small (Vukcevic 82’), Devine (Thordarson 82’), Dobbin (Smith 63’), Osmajic. PNE unused subs: Walton, Lindsay,, Frokjaer, Gryba.