Preston North End put to the sword as Leicester City win Championship at Deepdale

Preston North End’s final Deepdale assignment of the season saw them lock horns with champions elect, Leicester City - who knew that victory on Monday night would clinch the Championship title and keep their 100 point dreams alive. All the pre-match chat, therefore, was always going to be about the promoted Foxes. But, Ryan Lowe’s side were hurting on the back of three successive defeats and the death of their play-off hopes. Plus, this encounter was what most supporters were going to take into the summer - as their final memory of the campaign.

Expecting a result would be tough to justify, but the home faithful were well within their rights to demand a performance full of heart, bravery and fight. When the Lilywhites do that, under the bright Deepdale lights, anything tends to feel possible. Three changes were made from last weekend’s dire defeat in the capital, with Jack Whatmough, Mads Frokjaer and Milutin Osmajic brought into the side. Jordan Storey was ill, Emil Riis a substitute and Ben Woodburn out of the squad all together - after his first league start of the season.

And there was certainly no shortage of atmosphere as Alan Browne - potentially for the last time - led his team out on home soil. The away end was a party picture of blue and white - producing a ferocious noise and sending a barrage of balloons on to the pitch. Chant after chant came roaring from the Bill Shankly Kop, but on the field of play PNE negotiated the first half-an-hour effectively - even if there was precious little to get you on the edge of your seat. North End were risk averse in possession and predictable, but denied the Foxes the fast start their travelling supporters craved. Freddie Woodman was on hand to smother a first time Jamie Vardy effort, before Kasey McAteer headed a glorious chance wide at the back post.

North End’s plan - similar to at the King Power Stadium back in October - was surely to get in at half time level with the league leaders. But, as former Foxes favourites were serenaded by the visiting faithful - Estebian Cambiasso, Leonardo Ulloa and Marcin Wasilewski to name three - it was a present Leicester icon who broke the deadlock. PNE had prevented major threat, Abdul Fatawu, from isolating Andrew Hughes. But, when space opened up for the Ghanaian, he smartly slid in Yunus Akgun - who dragged the ball across for Jamie Vardy. You know the rest.

After a first touch to kill the ball, a sizzling strike was expected to follow. As it turned out, an ugly, scuffed effort proved enough as the ball trickled into the bottom corner - Woodman having gone to ground a touch early. From there - with the smell of blue pyro surfing through the night sky and Leicester smelling blood all of sudden - it was essential for Preston to limit further damage before the break. They did just that and, surely, all the home supporters then wanted to see was their team have a good go.

But, the match was taken further away from the hosts on 52 minutes - then done and dusted after 67. Makeshift left-back for the night, Wout Faes, flew forward, drilled his shot against the post and there was Vardy, to run on to the loose ball and hammer home into the empty net - with the excitement of a youngster scoring the first of his career. North End had a mountain to climb and Robbie Brady’s crosses were nothing to cling on to. With 23 minutes of normal time to play, it was game, set and match as Fatawu picked out an unmarked McAteer and - this time - he made no mistake with his pinpoint header.

Empty, home seats started to increase in visibility; both sides at this point would’ve likely been glad to shake hands and head home. With a lap of the pitch pencilled in post-match, perhaps the possibility of it being Browne’s farewell was a reason for many to stay put. Woodman rushed off his line to deny Vardy his hat-trick, after racing through on goal. Fatawu then rattled the post from distance, while a Liam Lindsay strike from 30 yards was ironically cheered by the North End fans. A meaningful chance did eventually come along, but Emil Riis slotted his volley - from a sprayed Whatmough pass over the top - just wide of the bottom right corner.

Attendance: 19,641 PNE starting XI: Woodman; Whatmough, Lindsay, Hughes, Millar, Ledson (Holmes 80’), Browne (N Mawene 86’), Brady, Frokjaer (T Mawene 86’), Keane (Stewart 86’), Osmajic (Riis 68’) PNE unused subs: Cornell, Cunningham, Best, Evans.