Tim Mercer's PNE Fans' Panel verdict: Cracking late goal from Thordarson sealed a much-needed win
A much-needed win was sealed late on by a wonderfully taken Stefan Thordarson goal, who took a great touch to a difficult ball past the keeper before slotting in from a narrow angle with his weaker left foot.
Given he was running out of pitch and off balance only made it more special, and resulted in the kind of raucous celebrations I’ve not heard in home league games for quite a while.
Have no doubt about it, this was an important win. Four or five matches ago, a 12-point cushion from the relegation places was being maintained in the usual fashion which North End fans are all too familiar with, when a season is petering out towards mid-table mediocrity.
However, the continued dropping of points combined with good results from the lower placed sides had reduced this to nine points coming into this match.
As it turned out, a loss would have narrowed it to six points and ‘looking over your shoulder’ time.
I don’t think there is any question now that the magic 50-point mark will not be enough to keep a club in the division this season and the sooner we get north of that tally, the better!
The first half of this match was a torpid affair from Preston’s perspective. Struggling to keep possession, there was nothing to cheer the home supporters as the loud and large away contingent rang the Pompey chimes and spurred their team on.
Thank goodness Paul Heckingbottom took the bull by the horns at half-time and made four substitutions at the restart. In all my long years of following the Lilywhites, this fan cannot recall seeing four made at this point before and I took this as a measure of the manager’s frustration with that poor first-half showing.
The changes worked and the hosts finally got on the front foot, with one of the substitutes, Sam Greenwood, putting a peach of a cross into Emil Riis who somehow headed wide.
The pressure finally led to the opening and first PNE goal for loanee Ryan Porteous, who followed in at the far post to a headed cross by a later substitute, Ched Evans.
The visitors responded by upping their own game and a series of corners resulted in a well-taken equaliser from close range.
Rather than accept another draw from a winning position and two points dropped, we continued to create chances, and Evans must have thought he would surely score from a good Robbie Brady cross that the keeper somehow saved.
Brady was one of the four half-time substitutes and it has to be said was one of the main reasons for the improved performance.
Indeed, it was his lofted pass that put Thordarson in for the winner and for me he made a strong case to be man of the match.
Nevertheless, since arriving in the summer Thordarson has continued to improve as the season has progressed and, given the joy he gave us with that goal, he surely deserves the award.