The John Smith Column: ​The form of Saints meant North End were always going to be up against it in final game of season

An unbeaten run of 18 league games had seen the Saints soar up the table into a play-off position. During this period they had also defeated Premier League teams Fulham and Arsenal in the FA Cup.

Last Saturday, they had run Premier League title challengers, the mighty Manchester City close in a Wembley FA Cup semi final.

Although we had managed a creditable away win at Sheffield United on the same day, our record over the last 18 games had seen us achieve just four wins in the same period in which we had also lost nine.

The Saints were fast out of the traps and put us under pressure from the off so it was not a massive shock to me when they took the lead inside the first 15 minutes.

To our credit though, we grew into the game to become the dominant side in the second period of the first half.

I thought that we were really unlucky not to go into the interval on level terms and although the visitors did look a class outfit, we more than matched them in most departments .

I was particularly impressed by the determination and fight shown in the half by Liam Lindsay and Ben Whiteman – two of our longest serving players – who have come up for criticism from certain sections of the crowd.

I feel some of our supporters have failed to appreciate their strong efforts and commitment over the last few years.

However, when substitute goalkeeper Dai Cornell’s first task after replacing the injured Daniel Iversen for the second half was to pick the ball out of the net, I feared the worst.

Yet we stuck to the task well managing to find a way back into the game when man-of-the-match Lewis Dobbin rolled the ball into an empty net after being presented with the opportunity after the Saints goalkeeper had slipped in trying to make a clearance.

After going more direct we were by far the better side for the majority of the second half although the Saints continued to look dangerous on the counter attack.

They scored a third goal at the death which was in my opinion not a fair reflection on the day’s proceedings.

However it meant that their terrific run in the second half of the season had sent them marching into the play offs, where as Paul Heckingbottom's team had followed a similar path of previous years.

Early season promise had ultimately ended in a season of mediocrity.

To finish with the words of George Michael whether membership of Club Deepdale next season can take us to a smiling place where, like at the Club Tropicana, we too could also brush shoulders with the stars remains to be seen.

However, one thing which is certain is that as another rollercoaster of a season comes to its close, the Deepdale faithful remain "Waiting For That Day" when we may have a chance of promotion to the Premier League..