Preston North End v Hull City
Deepdale, Tuesday 4th December, 7.45pm kick off
Full Time: PNE 3 Hull City 0 (Agyemang 60, Whaley 68, Lewis Neal 88)
Click here to bet on today's match
Click here to listen to live full match commentary
Send a message to today's broadcast team at matchday@pne.com.
90 + 3 mins: Full time! Yyyyyeeeeeesssssss!!! North End are back, and the crowd is ecstatic. Even Brian has got in on the 'Bring on the Blackpool' lark. He's playing 'That's Entertainment' by The Jam. Corny but hugely relevant.
Right, we'll be seeing you again when derby day comes around on Saturday. If you're unlucky enough not to be in the vicinity of Deepdale at 12.30pm on Saturday lunchtime, we'll be back with all our usual minute-by-minute and Whites World coverage. Don't forget, the game isn't on Sky, and it's all ticket, so buy your seat now by visiting MyPNE.com or getting in touch with the ticket office. You can visit in person or call 0870 442 1966. Either way, you've got to be at Deepdale to end seven-and-a-half years of waiting. See you there...
90 + 1 mins: Mellor plays a raking through ball across from right to left, and Gallagher takes it down on his chest before launching a rifled shot that Myhill does well to hold cleanly.
90 mins: Three minutes of added time, says the fourth official's board (which seems to be functioning far better than it did against Charlton).
89 mins: Great to see Lewis back in the groove. Another attacking option will do us no harm. The Blackpool chants have started again.
88 mins: Goal for PNE! How inspired was that double change? Mellor sends a great square ball across the box and Lewis Neal slides in at the back post to turn the ball in off the underside of the bar. It's 3-3 on aggregate against Hull now - can we make it 4-3 or would that be too greedy? 3-0
87 mins: Substitution for PNE - make that two out of two. Mellor for Agyemang.
86 mins: Substitution for PNE - we got the first one right - Neal for Whaley. One out of two.
85 mins: Looks like Lewis Neal and Neil Mellor are about to come on. We reckon they'll take of Whaley and Agyemang so they get their deserved plaudits.
83 mins: Gally sends Pat away again but this time his shot is blocked. Still, PNE retrieve the ball and the pressure continues.
79 mins: McKenna crosses, Whaley heads it back into the middle, and the ultra confident Pat attempts one of his trademark overhead kicks. It goes wide, but no-one really minds because PNE are on top and playing some good football.
79 mins: Pat wins a throw this time. I think he's eyeing up the man of the match award.
78 mins: Chilvers heads wide from Callum's corner, but the whistle had already gone for pushing.
77 mins: Great work from Pat as he wins PNE a corner. I wonder if he'll do a rare full 90 minutes tonight.
76 mins: Windass gets into a potential scoring position again, but completely misses his kick. 'Air ball!' cries the imaginary American to my left.
75 mins: Preston clear but Hull come straight back, and substitute Windass causes a little bit of concern with a well struck shot. Luckily, it wasn't struck quite well enough, and it goes wide for a throw.
74 mins: A scruffy corner is awarded to Hull. The crowd don't seem to like the call very much. Luckily the left footed delivery lands straight into Lonergan's hands.
71 mins: You can already sense an increased confidence in the way PNE are playing their passes at the moment, with the flair players happy to experiment with the odd flick or trick.
69 mins: 'Bring on the Blackpool' is the cry - indeed.
68 mins: Goal for PNE! Sedgwick's ball sends McKenna away down the right, and he crossed deep to find Whaley lurking on the left. He hits it hard and low but it strikes Sam Ricketts and it deflects into the roof of the net. Uproar inside the stadium, it's started! 2-0
67 mins: Third and final substitution for Hull - Frazier Campbell hasn't had as good a game as he did at the KC, and he goes off to give David Livermore a game.
65 mins: Sensible play from North End - working it back to Lonners and killing the pace. Just hold stready and then try to find Pat again with the killer through ball.
62 mins: Double substitution for Hull - Caleb Folan and Stephen McPhee go off, with Dean Windass and Sir Jay Jay of Okocha coming on.
61 mins: My colleague had just passed comment that Preston don't seem to ever score home league goals in the second half - Southampton excluded. Cheers un-named colleague, you've just inflicted the commentator's curse in the best way possible!
60 mins: Goal for PNE! Gallagher times the threaded pass to perfection and he sends Agyemang away with 30 yards between him and goal. Despite his lightning pace, it seems to take an age for him to make the extra stride he needs to bring the ball under control, and he then sends Deepdale crazy with a thumping shot into the bottom left corner. Get in! 1-0
57 mins: Ledge tries to find Gally again, but this time Wayne Brown snuffs out what could have been a very inviting through ball.
56 mins: A nice flick from St Ledger sends Gallagher clear, but sadly we could all see that Ledge played the ball while retreating from an offside position.
55 mins: Lonergan keeps out a low shot from Stephen McPhee - the ball bouncing out of his palms and turning wide for a corner.
54 mins: A tight offside goes against Gallagher.
53 mins: An injury to Marney delays the corner, and he hobbles off for treatment.
51 mins: Whaley forces another corner. For some reason, Ricketts then appears to try a stretching routine which involves trying to push the goalposts over. Not one that I've seen before.
49 mins: A good chance, but not quite good enough. Agyemang tries to slide it across the six-yard line to Gallagher, but Turner cuts it out for a corner. Whaley's resulting delivery somehow misses everyone, including, primarily, his main target Liam Chilvers.
47 mins: Ooh! Sam Ricketts comes oh-so-close to becoming only the second player to clear the ball right out of Deepdale this season, courtesy of the missing stand on the east side. The only player to manage it previously was Everton's Joleon Lescott in pre-season. For the record, the effort cleared the first fence, bounced once, but then hit the perimeter wall and stayed in.
2048: The second half recommences.
2047: A bit of a change to the old re-warm-up routine tonight. The players stand in a circle facing Billy Barr, and when he throws the ball up into the air they all spin round and sprint away.
2045: Back come PNE for their now-customary re-warm-up before the second half recommences.
2044: Our press steward has just come and handed me a Hull shirt. I've no idea what I'm supposed to do with it. Wear it and try and sneak on as sub maybe? I'm that bad that it might be of great help to PNE if I do - preferably if I come on for one of the dangerous front two, and hopefully prevent an Okocha or a Windass from making an appearance.
2040: Talking of famous fans, Hull seem to have a few, including the crew from The Beautiful South, BBC Sport presenter Damian Johnson, and Sky's Rob Palmer, who's supposedly broadcasting an impartial analysis of affairs for Sky Sports News tonight..!
2039: I've just spotted a Tony Blackburn lookalike in the crowd. I wonder what he makes of our matchday DJ?
2037: Just a thought - if Deepdale Duck has taken squad number 22 for the season, why doesn't his name appear on the back of the programme? Something to quiz the general manager about in the morning.
2034: The rush to get back into the Great Room from the executive seats begins in earnest. They must serve some good grub in there.
2033: What have you made of the first half? E-mail matchday@pne.com and Matt and Rob on Whites World will read out the best comments on air.
45 + 1 mins: One minute later, and nothing has happened in that extra minute to merit actually playing it.
45 mins: There will be one minute of added time.
44 mins: Folan fouls Mawene in the act of trying to break free on goal but the referee lets him play on despite the assistant's flag waving. Lonergan smothers the loose ball and Ledge dives in for the craic before the official finally notices the merry flag waver.
42 mins: We're getting towards that danger time - e.g. 45 minutes - and it's gone a little quiet. Let's hope the concentration levels stay high.
37 mins: A good PNE move as Agyemang and Gallagher charge forward, but stern defending brings an end to the move's potential before Whaley strikes the half-cleared ball high over the bar.
36 mins: Booking - Michael Turner's name is in the notebook after 'cropping' Simon Whaley, to use a playground term. A PNE player is in the book too - Danny Pugh, on loan at Stoke in their game at Sheffield United.
34 mins: A Preston player is on the scoresheet - Joe Anyinsah has scored for Carlisle at home to Swindon. They lead 1-0 at Brunton Park.
32 mins: There's some weird games taking place tonight. Colchester lead Watford 2-0, Coventry are 2-0 up at West Brom, and Stoke are leading 3-0 at Sheffield Utd! All we're lacking here is a couple of goals - it's been a decent game played in front of an atmospheric crowd so far.
30 mins: Substitution for PNE - an unusual one this one, with Paul Gallagher coming on for Brett Ormerod. We think Brett took a knock to the head, and he's heading down the tunnel for treatment.
29 mins: A bizarre cross-cum-shot from Agyemang drifts across the face of goal but the ball drops dead for a goal kick.
26 mins: Try for Hull! A long ball is punted forward and Frazier Campbell grounds it beyond the dead ball line with his hand. I'm surprised we didn't have to go to the video referee for that one. Oh sorry, got confused there. Campbell's efforts at trying to keep a long through ball in play - with his hand - were so reminiscent of the other sport they play in Hull that I got momentarily confused.
25 mins: The closest we've come to a goal. Don't give Caleb Folan any room in the box, because if you do, he'll hit the post.
22 mins: A golden opportunity goes begging. Brett wins a free kick for a push in the back from Michael Turner, McKenna floats it in, before two neat passes from Whaley and Ormerod work the ball back into an unmarked central position for Sedgwick, just in front of the penalty spot. He snatches at the shot with his left foot and the ball goes over.
21 mins: Whaley floats in a free kick from the left, Mawene jumps, but it goes off for a corner off Myhill's gloves. From the corner, McKenna sees another shot charged down.
19 mins: The ball seems to have set up camp in Hull's half, which is no bad thing. The only downside is that it isn't really doing anything of note just now. It let Simon Whaley have a little run with it a few minutes ago, which was quite nice, but Mr Ball seems quite happy just to stroll around midfield with his minders at the moment.
13 mins: A potential Danny Baker moment goes awry. Wayne Brown looks to play a short ball out of defence, but he reckons without the force of a Callum Davidson challenge. The ball ricochets off the Scotsman's boot, about 25 yards out, and trickles agonisingly wide of target with keeper Bo Myhill nowhere near the net.
12 mins: Paul McKenna looked to have won the ball in a very promising position to start another attack, but the referee gives a foul against the skipper for his challenge on counterpart Ian Ashbee. He then fails to give one for a foul on Pat, that everyone in the ground saw. Including me, with my glasses.
10 mins: Though there's not been much happening in the last couple of minutes, PNE look a far more confident side than the team we were watching this time last month.
7 mins: Apparently Norwich are winning so we're 'officially bottom' according to Brian from the LEP! If this is the start of a team that's bottom of the league, I'd love to see the quality of the team that's top.
6 mins: Matt Hill charges forward on a promising run but he elects not to shoot when everyone inside Deepdale (except the gold shirted ones) urges him to let fly. Simon Whaley sends in a cross, which is ultimately knocked back to Paul McKenna on the edge of the box, but his shot is charged down and cleared. A promising start.
5 mins: A number of Hull fans take to their feet in the universally-acclaimed knowledge that it helps you sing several decibels louder. Cue the deployment of a blue-jacketed SWAT team, ably aided by some of the SAS' top dogs to investigate.
4 mins: A wayward effort from Dean Marney flies high into the Town End.
2 mins: A couple of minutes played, both teams have attacked once, Preston have a free kick on the edge of their own area. Not much else to report yet.
1945: Here we go - the game is underway.
1944: Shocker! Hull's strip looks horribly similar to the effort Blackpool will be wearing at Deepdale on Saturday. A good dress rehearsal awaits.
1943: Right on cue, Kasabian kicks in, and here come the two teams.
1942: The theme music from 'The Apprentice' is playing - that can only mean that the teams are on their way out.
1941: The Deepdale turf looks great once again, but some visiting ruffians have discarded some plastic bottles just outside the edge of the penalty area at the Kop end. I hope they're going to clean up after themselves before the game starts.
1936: Anyone who saw what a mess the Hull groundstaff made of removing their centre circle advertising banner at the KC three-and-a-half weeks ago will be relived to hear that their Preston counterparts have just removed the JD logo with consumate ease.
1932: Adam Catterall - ever the scamp in his role as pitchside PA man - has just praised Brian on his GCSE level English. Funny, I didn't hear any mention of alliteration and onomatopoeia. Nor was there any hint of Shakespeare. They must have sat different GCSEs in Brian's era.
1931: Anyone reading this once you've got home (yes, I know there are a fair few of you) and left wondering why there are camcorders everywhere around the ground, it's not an anti-hooliganism measure - it's merely a film crew putting together a short film about a football ground on a matchday.
1929: I can't see what's going on over on the playing surface because several representatives of the press are having a good old natter right in front of me. Don't they realise I've got a job to do?
1928: The tuneage has now moved onto U2's 'Vertigo'. I presume that's a reference to anyone brave (or stupid) enough to want to watch the game from the top of the newly erected top 'crossbar' over on the Invincibles Pavilion side of the ground.
1921: 'The Heat Is On' plays over the PA. There seem to be subliminal musical messages at every game this season.
1856: The teams are in. North End are unchanged for the first time under Alan Irvine. On the bench, there's a return for Darren Carter and Lewis Neal, with an intriguing selection of three players who are all capable of playing on the left flank. PNE are certainly going for it, with no defenders amongst the five replacements.
North End: Lonergan, St Ledger, Chilvers, Mawene, Hill, Sedgwick, McKenna (c), Davidson, Whaley, Ormerod, Agyemang. Subs: Chris Neal, Gallagher, Carter, Lewis Neal, Mellor.
Hull City: Myhill, Ashbee (c), Turner, McPhee, Garcia, Brown, Delaney, Folan, Ricketts, Marney, Campbell. Subs: Duke, Danson, Windass, Livermore, Okocha.
1844: There will now be a short break in the updates as I transfer from the office to the press box at the back of the Sir Tom Finney Stand. When I return, I shall be in possession of the all-important team news...
1826: Brian - the PA man - arrives in the office. Cue mass hysteria! He runs through tonight's announcements to make sure he's got the pronunciation of all the long words correct. He then departs very quickly to go and hide in his little room at the back of the Kop.
1825: The tension is building here. Someone has just asked for a stapler while another colleague casually thumbs tonight's matchday programme.
1809: Just sitting at my desk in the office and not a great deal to report. I've just seen the players going into a darkened room for some reason. Must be a new relaxation technique.
