Preston North End v Everton
Pre-Season Friendly
Deepdale
Tuesday 22nd July, 7.45pm kick-off
Final Score: Preston 0 Everton 1 (Jagielka 7)
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90 + 1 mins: Full-time - the referee plays a little bit of added time to see what else happens, but it turns out to be not a great deal in the end. Obviously not the result we were looking for, but 10,322 have seen a solid North End performance, with plenty of positives to take from the passing game we produced and the understandings that the various units are producing. We'll be with you again from Brunton Park this Saturday when Carlisle United provide the latest pre-season opposition.
89 mins: Carter twists and turns but doesn't hit the target after doing the hard work in the build up. Ball goes dead - another substitution for Everton. Lukas Jutkiewicz is off, John Irving is on.
88 mins: "Shhhhoooooottttt!!!" cry the home fans as Sedge picks up the ball in space, but he gets over the ball a little too much and it travels low along the lovely looking turf straight into Turner's hands.
86 mins: Hawley's header from Hart's cross loops high into the air and onto the top of the crossbar, with Turner seeming to lose it in the air until the last moment. Some of the more eagle-eyed North Enders think he got something on it as he made a last ditch play at the ball.
83 mins: You get some handy messages over our PA - we've just announced to all the Blues that the last direct train to Liverpool leaves at 22.27 so we recommend that everyone heads back to the station direct from the ground. I'd love to see some of the indirect services they offer later than that. The National Rail website can be a bag of fun when you're checking out night trains.
81 mins: Substitution for Everton - Baxter's work is done, giving fellow academy lad Eunan O'Kane a chance to shine for ten minutes.
80 mins: There have been a few long range shots tonight, but none have gone in so far. Latest man to miss from miles away is Dan Gosling.
78 mins: Double substitution for PNE - Callum Davidson replaced by Billy Jones and Barry Nicholson replaced by Joe Anyinsah. As soon as he was summoned to the bench, Brian on the PA also revealed that Cal has been selected by George Banks the Jeweller man of the match.
75 mins: Another Jagielka on Mellor penalty shout, and the same outcome once again - no penalty.
74 mins: Double substitution for PNE - Chaplow and McKenna are off, Sedgwick and Carter are on. Substitution for Everton - Lee Molyneux on in place of Nuno Valente.
72 mins: More for Lonners to do, this time clearing long and high as he races out to close down Baxter.
71 mins: Van der Meyde dispossesses Chaplow down our right and within just a few determined paces he's unleashing a belting strike towards Lonners' top corner. Luckily our top keeper is up to the task and tips it away for a corner.
66 mins: Another ball from the right, this time an incisive low cross from Hart, which is met on the run by Hawley. His shot looks good but it just evades the bar and lands in the empty Town End.
64 mins: Whaley crosses, Mellor heads, but he was forced to dive away from goal so directing the effort proves somewhat tricky and the danger is averted for the visitors.
62 mins: Substitution for Everton - after being stopped in his tracks, off goes Kieran Agard and on comes talisman Mikel Arteta. Substitution for PNE - Brett's done a lot of tireless running, and having played his part it's time for Karl Hawley to have a go at finding the equaliser.
61 mins: Solid Sean St Ledger produces a great block tackle to end a mazy run from Agard.
60 mins: North End are piling on the pressure. The latest chance is smacked with venom by Chaplow after he tees himself up onto the volley from the edge of the box, but unfortunately he appears to strike Mellor's back as the crowded box keeps Everton's lead intact.
57 mins: A mistake between Lescott and Jagielka allows Mellor to drive from deep but the Blues throw back bodies in numbers and are able to stand up to the threat.
55 mins: Brett Ormerod tries to drive one hard and low into the bottom corner of Turner's goal, but Nuno Valente stands firms and the ball squirms away from danger.
50 mins: Dan Gosling, formerly of Plymouth, breaks free inside the PNE penalty area but thumps his low shot wide from close range.
Substitution for PNE - As a result of that break in play, PNE take the chance to bring on Simon Whaley in place of Lewis Neal.
49 mins: Van der Meyde sends his own supporters cowering with a shot that dips wickedly - after passing the advertising hoardings at great height.
47 mins: Shouts for a penalty as Mellor goes down under Jagielka's challenge, but the referee seems happy to accept that the England defender got a foot to the ball.
2050: No changes at half-time, so we're as we were an hour ago, with the exception of Neil Mellor who has replaced Chris Brown after that knock late on in the half.
45 mins: Half-time arrives bang on queue. Deserved applause for the two sides who've put in a fair bit of effort.
43 mins: For some reason the Everton fans don't exactly warm to Mellor upon his arrival. Think that might help to spur him on.
42 mins: Substitution for PNE - Mellor ends up waiting four minutes to come on as the ball fails to leave the playing surface in a continuous North End passing move. Brown is now officially off.
38 mins: Looks like Chris Brown's night is over - he took a knock and stayed upfield as play returned towards the North End half. After a signal to the bench, it looks like Neil Mellor will be replacing him as a precaution.
37 mins: Interesting to see the shape North End are taking up here. Lewis Neal is playing like a traditional winger, but the man with number seven on his shirt, Nicholson, is playing a mainly narrow role in what appears to be a 'central midfield three', allowing Hart to do a lot of the wide running on the right.
35 mins: Michael Hart looks quite happy to get after defenders with the ball at his feet. On this occasion he draws in his man before laying it off to Mawene to cross, but the delivery maybe asks a little too much of Brown who heads over on the stretch.
34 mins: Andy van der Meyde, sporting a new skin-head look for the summer, gives North End a good chance to equalise as he trips Chappie just outside the box, 22 yards out. Unfortunately the wall does its job as McKenna's drive is stopped before it reaches the mythical 'danger zone'.
32 mins: First shot at goal for a few minutes - Agard mis-kicking as he looked to nail a 'goal of the pre-season' candidate from distance.
27 mins: The game is going through a bit of a quiet phase, with a lot of neat passing (mainly from the Lilywhites) but there hasn't been much in the way of penetration for a little while. Quite typical of a friendly, really.
21 mins: There's a real determination about this young Evertonian side - you can tell they're a David Moyes outfit by the way they look to close you down at every opportunity. North End are adopting a similar policy - it's probably just the odd slicker pass here and there in midfield that's making the difference at the moment.
19 mins: Michael Hart bursts down the right - hopefully a phrase we'll get more used to typing this season - and sends in another good cross that his old Aberdonian chum Barry Nicholson oh so nearly converts with a close range header. It almost looked in, but instead bounced back off that stick that holds up the netting.
17 mins: Nice deep cross from Chaplow - it forces Phil Neville into a no-nonsense clearance away for a corner.
16 mins: Kieran Agard, one of Everton's young strikers, chances his arm from just outside the area, but it's his foot that's primarily responsible for narrowly missing the target that is Andy Lonergan's goal.
14 mins: Just time to break off and tell you that the Kop looks about 80% full of Evertonians - about the same as last season. It's obviously harder from our vantage point at the back of the Sir Tom Finney Stand to guage exactly how full it is, but it feels pretty busy (we're penned in like sardines as ever, such is the press interest in this friendly).
12 mins: McKenna curls one over the top after good jinking and jiving from Ormerod creates confusion in the Everton box before a neat lay-off finds the skipper.
10 mins: Nearly all square. Lewis Neal tests the height of Everton's backline with a well placed cross, slightly too high for Brown but only cleared as far as Barry Nicholson. Only a good block from Iain Turner stops the Scotsman from opening his North End account from 15 yards, and only a slice of fortune prevents the ball from rebounding straight into the path of the onrushing Neal.
7 mins: Goal for Everton! That boy Baxter delivers a mean set piece... this time he swings a corner straight onto the head of Phil Jagielka, and the England man plants it firmly between a diving Lonergan and his man on the post. That's the first one we've conceded after four and a bit games of pre-season. 0-1
6 mins: First genuine opportunity after a frenzied opening. Jose Baxter, who we hadn't heard of, either, curls a superb free-kick onto the front of Andy Lonergan's crossbar. For some reason the Evertonians all start singing Andy van der Meyde's name as a result.
1948: We're underway. Jonathan Breeze is now in his commentator's chair for Whites World, so tune in if you're a subscriber.
1946: The new stand is still officially a building site at the moment, so no-one is allowed to go beyond the confines of the technical area unless they're "on the list". Cue all the non-playing members of the squad being escorted from the Pavilion to the Town End..!
1945: I must declare an interest early on - one of tonight's assistant referees, Paul Marsden, is a good friend of mine and this is his first season on the line in the Football League. I'll only be saying nice things about the officials tonight.
1944: And now they're on the pitch. Deepdale erupts. This is it!
1943: The strains of Romeo and Juliette are walzing their way through the PA system - it can only mean one thing... the players are in the tunnel.
1940: If you've not already tuned in, join Matt Morris and Robert Urbani for PNE Live on Whites World, bringing you the very latest build-up from Deepdale. They're just passing some very positive comment about the excellent playing surface prepared by Pete Ashworth and his team. It looks better than the fairways at Royal Birkdale.
1937: Dwain Chambers may not be able to claim a place in the GB Olympic team for Beijing, but I think I may qualify after all the running round I've just been put through. Lost tickets, lost press passes, team sheet alterations... you name it, I've bee running around trying to fix it. I need a sit down...
1903: There are two Deepdale debuts tonight - one for Barry Nicholson... and our new pitchside PA announcer Adam Alcock, drivetime presenter with 107 The Bee in Blackburn. We'll keep you posted if he gets up to any mischief...
1852: We have the teams - PNE are looking strong tonight with a number of changes from the side that played at Morecambe on Saturday as the gaffer looks to test out different men in different combinations. Of greatest interest to the home fans - probably - is the chance to see new summer signing Barry Nicholson at Deepdale for the first time.
The Everton side isn't as strong as you might expect for a Premier League outing as a number of youngsters grace the team, but there's still plenty of international class in the form of Phil Neville, Joleon Lescott, Phil Jagielka, Nuno Valente and Andy van der Meyde. There's been an early sighting of Andy Johnson at Deepdale but he doesn't make their matchday 17, with Spaniard Mikel Arteta their stand-out name on the bench.
PNE: Lonergan, Hart, Davidson, St Ledger, Mawene, McKenna (capt), Nicholson, Chaplow, Brown, Ormerod, Lewis Neal. Subs: Chris Neal, Mellor, Jones, Whaley, Hawley, Carter, Anyinsah, Sedgwick.
Everton: Turner, Neville (capt), Valente, Rodwell, Lescott, Jagielka, van der Meyde, Gosling, Jutkiewicz, Agard, Baxter. Subs: Ruddy, Arteta, O'Kane, Molyneux, Sinnott, Irving.
1834: I've just been taking a read of tonight's match programme, which is a jolly good read and costs just £1. The fact that I wrote a fair chunk of it is a mere coincidence.
1823: The Everton players are here and the atmosphere is building as a fair crowd assembles at Deepdale. Football is coming home.
