Substitute Aune Heggebo struck late for West Brom to deny Preston a first win under Graham Alexander in a 1-1 draw at a wind-swept Deepdale in the Championship.
The Norwegian came off the bench on the hour and rifled home an 82nd-minute leveller just four minutes after Andrew Hughes hooked North End into the lead from a corner.
James Morrison’s visitors had already come from behind to win against Wrexham and Blackburn in their last two matches but Preston deserved their point.
It was their first since Alexander took charge earlier this month and came at the end of a week where two of their first-team coaches left the club, in part as a result of their position at the bottom of the Championship.
Preston started well in the troublesome wet and windy conditions with Johnny Kenny forcing Max O’Leary into a low save with a speculative shot in the opening two minutes before Leo Leroy dragged an effort across goal shortly after.
West Brom were 2-0 inside 12 minutes against Blackburn last weekend and it was another slow start here, though Isaac Price did force Daniel Iversen into a smart save with a 28th-minute curling effort.
The Northern Ireland midfielder should have hit the target 12 minutes later, guiding Jayson Molumby’s wind-assisted cross wide from close range.
Chances were in short supply for both teams but Alexander’s side had a clear opening within 60 seconds of the second half as Kenny teed up Delano Burgzorg in the box and O’Leary did well to parry the Dutchman’s powerful shot.
A few minutes later, Kenny went from provider to goal-chaser, trying to place an effort in at the near post from just inside the box, though it was a fairly routine save for Albion keeper O’Leary.
The wind was in the Lilywhites’ sails and Burgzorg floundered an even better opportunity to bag the opener in the 54th minute, stabbing wide a gorgeous low delivery from Stanley Mills with the goal gaping.
Not long later, it was a chance-a-piece in quick succession as Kenny headed over Andrija Vukcevic’s whipped in cross before Felix Myhre’s point-blank prod was brilliantly blocked by Iversen as Brayann Pereira’s header deflected perfectly into his path.
Perseverance and endeavour paid off for the hard-working home team and Hughes flicked Leroy’s corner into the net with the visiting defence allowing the corner to bounce into his path.
Elation rang around three quarters of Deepdale but it was short lived as Heggebo slammed West Brom level in the 82nd minute as Preston failed to clear their lines after Iversen had brilliantly tipped Price’s close-range strike on to the post.
The managers
Preston manager Graham Alexander:
To follow…
West Brom head coach James Morrison:
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What the result means and next fixtures…
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