Tim Mercer’s Preston North End fans’ panel verdict: Thanks goodness the pubs are open again!

Nothing short of a win was needed here, but it didn’t happen in what turned out to be a game of low quality that will not linger long in the memory.

Overall North End were the better team but lacked what it takes to see a victory over the line.

More simply put, they were not good enough and have not been for several games now across both sides of the Covid-19 shutdown divide.

To be fair, the opening few minutes did show intent with some quite decent attacking play leading this fan to think, ‘Maybe we can do it today’.

However, as the game wore on Preston looked less and less likely to score apart from a late flurry towards the end of the game as we went into injury time.

By that point Alex Neil had played all his ‘sub’ cards by chucking on more forward players in a vain attempt to snatch a late victory.

A couple of half-decent chances went by unconverted and that was it, with possibly the only worse aspect being that of the dreadful iFollow coverage we fans have had to put up with.

It’s almost as if some bright spark from the 
EFL’s headquarters took a walk up Fishergate Hill one dinnertime and found a grubby card in a phone box by a local one-man outfit advertising ‘Wedding, Christening, Football Match? Why not have your event videoed’.

Thank goodness the pubs reopen tonight and my table is already booked for the 
first pint of cask to pass this fan’s disgruntled lips since March.