Tim Mercer's PNE fans' panel view: A spending gap there for all to see
The stark reality of the gulf in spending between these two sides was clear for all to see inside an Elland Road stadium bathed in spring sunshine.
North End did not lack in effort, but were beaten by the better team who were recently valued by respected football finance expert, Kieran Maguire, at around £281m compared to the £14m for Preston. Yes, an eye-watering difference!
Goals aplenty inside the opening 15 minutes had us all thinking there would be many more to come, but the scoreline of 2-1 stuck from that point onwards despite Leeds continuing to create numerous chances throughout the match.
From a Preston perspective, it was great to see Kaine Kesler-Hayden score his second goal for the club, albeit this time a decisive cracker rather than the deflected trickle into the net of two matches ago.
Here, he cut inside his marker in the box and unleashed a flyer into the top corner only two minutes after the hosts’ opener.
However, parity was only maintained for another seven minutes as Leeds retook the lead from a quality cross picking out the only white shirt in among four PNE defenders.
To be honest, it felt like the floodgates might open at that point and so it was somewhat of a relief to get in at half-time with the single-goal deficit.
With hope being the eternal curse of the long-suffering fan, this fan kidded himself that we could get back in it after the break.
In truth, we were somewhat fortunate not to concede more through a combination of luck and last-ditch defending.
Yes, we could have nicked an equaliser following a training ground routine from a corner which saw Ben Whiteman unleash a powerful strike that produced a fine save from their keeper.
It must also be said that heads did not drop at any point, as all in the blue away kit gave it a go.
However, it was all to no avail by the time of the final whistle against a team seemingly destined for promotion and the further riches of the Premier League.
Unless there is some kind of change in the summer, at a level above Paul Heckingbottom, the club is in danger of slipping further behind in its ability to compete at this level.
With that is the threat of a return to the dark days of the near 20 years in the wilderness suffered throughout the 1980s and 1990s. A sobering thought!