Town was buzzing after derby victory, Preston fan Tim Mercer relished victory over Blackpool

Much singing and merriment could be heard coming from the more traditional pubs and it

was great to be in amongst all the familiar faces you see over countless seasons.

One thing I love, is that you never get to know many of their names and yet it doesn’t matter a jot. The irrational bond of fandom is all you need; the shared experience.

With Ched Evans missing from the squad due to injury, it was with some trepidation that I walked onto my beloved Kop. Our poor record and lack of goals inside Deepdale this season are the real reason for our mid-table position and we could have done without the absence of our leading scorer.

However, the special atmosphere that Kopites create (yes, I’m biased) had soon settled my nerves and I enjoyed the good start made by North End in the opening minutes.

We had an intensity often missing at home this season and it was clear the players were ‘up for it’; none more so than when Brad Potts let fly with a rocket for the opening goal inside 15 minutes.

I was lucky to be in the line of sight as he pulled the trigger from just inside the box and so knew it was ‘in’ before the onion bag rippled and Deepdale went wild.

It was interesting to see Potts, a former Tangerine, celebrate in front of the Blackpool fans and felt like he had something he wanted to say and get off his chest.

And boy, if we thought that was good the freekick for the second goal was a masterclass in deception. Former Preston keeper Chris Maxwell was undone by Ben Whiteman as his disguised strike bent around the opposite side of the wall and into the net.

To all intent and purposes it was set up for either a Whiteman cross into the box or a Daniel Johnson left-footed curl around the right of Maxwell’s wall.

Wrongfooted, he stood no chance as it flew into the corner on his left. The second half started with the Lilywhites still in the ascendency and a wonderful Tom Cannon finish in front of the ‘Town’ End for his third goal in the last four matches. The young Everton loanee is on fire at the moment, having now adapted to playing in the man’s game at the unforgiving Championship level.

It followed a surging run forward and pass from Manchester United loanee Álvaro Fernández, another young player now in his stride and becoming a firm favourite with the fans. But you know what they say: ‘never fall in love with a loanee’. However, if we could get either one back for another season, as we did with Sepp van den Berg,

I would take it. The visitors did make three substitutions at the start of the second half and they did have an impact and get into the game after Preston’s third goal.

Two clear headed chances were missed, but a late consolation goal in the last 2 minutes was the only thing to take the shine off a wonderful afternoon. Oh, and thank goodness the South Stand wasn’t renamed the Alan Kelly City End when granted City status in 2002.