Sheffield United breeze past Preston North End on the opening night of the season

For PNE this was the start of campaign number four under boss Ryan Lowe, with two debutants named in the starting lineup - Stefan Thordarson and Sam Greenwood - to take on the relegated Blades. There was always going to be back three, and there were always going to be wing-backs, but the rest was a guess ahead of kick-off. Lowe opted for two up top, while Freddie Woodman was passed fit enough to start between the sticks. Midweek recruit Kaine Kesler-Hayden was named on the bench.

The wait for match one was reflected in the pre-match atmosphere, with two sets of fired up supporters bringing the noise as the two teams emerged from the tunnel. North End settled into the game reasonably well and tested the Blades back line with crosses from both sides. But, with 12 minutes on the clock, the ball was lost cheaply inside Preston's half and they paid the ultimate price - as Ollie Arblaster's shot deflected wickedly, and cruelly, into the far left corner.

The remainder of the half was comfortable for the visitors, who asked North End to come and break them down - while remaining an obvious threat themselves. Debutant Thordarson was the sole bright spark in white - his driven runs forward the only glimmer of hope for the hosts. Preston were urged, by the home faithful, to produce better as the interval arrived. Lowe's side had been comfortably second best during the first 45 minutes, but they only trailed by one and, kicking towards the Alan Kelly Town End, the game was by no means done.

Both Greenwood and Jack Whatmough produced meaningful early efforts, to raise the Deepdale decibels. But, on 55 minutes, it suddenly looked a long way back for Lowe's team. Woodman was urged to throw the ball out and, having turned down the chance to do so initially, hurled it straight to the feet of Gustavo Hamer. One touch, 30 yards out, followed by a lofted effort over the top of PNE's goalkeeper and into the empty net - a catastrophic way for the Lilywhites to fall further behind.

From there, a Blades' third always looked the most likely next goal to arrive - though Kesler-Hayden did injected some energy and Brad Potts forced a smart save out of Adam Davies. The first test always promised to be a tough one for North End, but the hope among the Deepdale faithful was that they would at least get a performance, if not result. There are 45 matches and many weeks to go yet, but it needs to be a whole lot better.

Attendance: 17,948