Preston supporter John Smith ponders whether defeat to Millwall will sound the death knell to PNE fans’ Premier League dreams

Having been granted this unexpected window of opportunity with the mouth-watering prize being that of promotion to the riches of the Premier League, our fans who travelled to Millwall in numbers were in very high spirits before the game believing that maybe we could be on the cusp of achieving something very special.

However, following this disappointing result, the window which had been wide open prior to this match kicking off was now only slightly ajar after it ended in a 2-0 defeat.

Some of our more superstitious fans might have had the belief that If we had donned our lucky AC Milan red and black stripped shirt strip which had seen us win four times in four outings on the road this season, there is a possibility that things might have turned out much differently.

However, in reality, the truth was that the home side did what we couldn't do and put the ball in the net twice which put a massive dent in our play-off hopes.

We had lost five and drawn two of our last seven meetings with Millwall and this dismal record always looked continuing after the home side took a first half lead midway through despite Ryan Lowe's side having had their fair share of the play and possession.

In the second half we did continue to press but the home side managed to double their advantage just short of 20 minutes from time with a clinical strike from their striker nicknamed the "Bermondsey Bergkamp"

Almost 12 years ago I had witnessed our team containing the likes of Craig Morgan, Ian Ashbee, Eddie Johnson and Bongani Khumalo being virtually relegated at this venue in our first year under the ownership of Trevor Hemmings.

Although this blow was not quite as devastating for me personally, it was still a bitter pill to swallow having had my hopes unexpectedly raised over the past couple of weeks with this result proving that as ever it is the hope which kills you.