The Tim Mercer column: PNE should have been out of sight before Freddie Woodman’s error
Without a doubt, a case of two points dropped and an overwhelming feeling of frustration was evident throughout the home sections of Deepdale as we trudged away after a 1-1 draw with Oxford United.
North End started brightly and should have been at least one or 2-0 up, possibly three, by the time Freddie Woodman extended the giving of presents beyond Yuletide by ‘passing’ to an unmarked Oxford player on the edge of the box, who couldn’t believe his luck before stepping up and scoring an easy opener.
It’s easy to blame a keeper, of course, but it should not be forgotten that Will Keane had missed a sitter created for him a few minutes earlier by the ever-dangerous Sam Greenwood.
Before that, Greenwood had turned his marker in a beautifully flowing move from midfield before driving forward for a fine shot on target that was turned around the post by the visiting keeper.
Shortly after Greenwood, Kaine Kesler-Hayden also forced a save following a mazy run into the penalty area.
Of course, it was whilst I was remarking to my neighbouring fan on how poor Oxford were proving to be that the Woodman mistake was made.
After three straight wins of their own, this fan was genuinely expecting more from The U’s, who for me looked one of the poorest sides to visit Deepdale so far this season, and hence should have been there for the taking.
No substitutions were made at half-time with manager Paul Heckingbottom clearly giving some breathing space for the team to make amends and it has to be said Preston continued to be the better side.
About 10 minutes into the restart, there then followed a double substitution that baffled us all by the withdrawal of Ali McCann and the excellent Greenwood.
Nevertheless, within a couple of minutes, the hosts got back on level terms with a lovely piece of skill and an assist from Duane Holmes.
Holmes dribbled past his man to the by-line before putting a peach of a cross onto Keane’s head from about a yard out.
To be honest it would have been harder to miss and should have set the platform for a deserved victory with more than 20 minutes of play still remaining.
However, this did not prove to be the case and the game petered out to its disappointing end.