Bristol City v PNE
Ashton Gate
Coca-Cola Championship
Saturday 4th April, 5.20pm kick-off
Final Score: Bristol City 1 PNE 1 (Maynard 58; Mawene 69)
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90+4 mins: The referee plays an extra minute of added time before bringing it all to an end. Both sides gave it their all, but the reaction from the two sets of fans - shocked silence from the hosts and frenzied applause from the visitors - perhaps indicates which of the two sides will find this point more useful come the end of the season. A very enjoyable away day, let's hope there are two more cracking road trips to anticipate. We'll join you for both of those, but don't forget that next up is the big derby against Blackpool in seven days, and we'll be with you again then. Until then, stay safe, and join us once more as the Seasiders come to town.
90+3 mins: Free kick to PNE with 25 seconds left. This is very nervy stuff. Wallace whips it in to Elliott but he's too outstretched to control it.
90+2 mins: Double substitution for Bristol City - Johnson and Maynard off, Elliott and Trundle on.
90+1 mins: PNE break again but Skuse pinches it off McKenna as the Lilywhites enjoyed a man advantage once more.
90 mins: Corner to City with three minutes of added time to come.
89 mins: Preston break three-on-two but Wallace's cross hangs in the air too long as he tries to pick out fellow escapees Carter and Parkin, allowing Basso the opportunity to stretch and claim.
87 mins: PNE are really pressing for a winner here, but Basso gets to Carter's cross before Parkin can and that particular move breaks down.
86 mins: An odd stoppage - the referee tells Williams to go and find a shin pad for his right leg as he was only wearing one on his left!
85 mins: Substitution for Bristol City - their first change sees their danger man Sproule go off, with Gavin Williams coming on.
83 mins: Substitution for PNE - Carter on for the debut man Williamson, who has played well. A very late point to have our first change of the game.
81 mins: PNE are playing pinball inside the Bristol box - you wouldn't believe the mixture of commentators' anguish all around me in this enclosed press box as North End somehow can't quite turn the ball in, with Parkin and Wallace the two men in the thick of it all.
78 mins: End to end, this. PNE spread play from left to right, and back again, and back again, ultimately resulting in Elliott rolling a shot right across the face of goal. Either side could win this, and I believe one of them still will.
77 mins: City keep winning corners but Sedgwick and McKenna combine to clear the latest of them. The home side keep up the pressure as Orr wellies a shot, but Sedgwick gets another block in with Nolan also covering.
76 mins: Yellow card - Mawene. The first of the game and probably inevitable. He was warned about ten minutes ago for a different offence, and this was a trip on Maynard who was looking to break in the centre circle.
74 mins: Johnson's corner is headed off Mawene by McCombe for a repeat set piece. The home fans think there's a bit of shirt tugging going on as the second corner comes in but the referee disagrees. And so do we, because we're biased.
72 mins: A bit of a breather after all the fun of that goal as McAllister needs treatment,
71 mins: Lots of banana waving in the away end now.
69 mins: Goal for PNE! Sky Sports wanted to run a feature on Youl Mawene this week, and asked if they could come and film him training because they "didn't have much action footage of him scoring goals recently". They do now. Wallace takes a quick corner on the left after a City defender hacked the ball behind under no pressure, and Mawene profited from the confusion by arriving late at the near post to side-foot home. Crucial goal. 1-1
67 mins: Parkin goes oh so close. He and Williamson traded passes just outside the area - the latter showing some great footwork in the process - before the big man curls a glided shot just over the top of Basso's bar. Basso, being of continental goalkeeping heritage, goes all continental with one of those dives you see six-year-olds making while trying to prove what an athlete they are. He was nowhere near it.
66 mins: If the manager is looking to change things, you would assume his primary options are Neil Mellor or Simon Whaley - the two men currently warming up.
65 mins: Elliott and Jones cut City apart down the right, but Parkin can't get his head on the latter's cross at it drops to the back post.
63 mins: Sedgwick mis-hits a shot with his left foot, with the ball rolling wide from 20 yards.
61 mins: Parkin holds the ball up well before rolling it into Elliott's stride. He jinks and shimmies before trying his luck from the edge of the box, but there's no luck of the Irish(man) to be seen as the ball hammers back off the upright.
59 mins: North End respond immediately by piling forward and winning a corner. A quick response is key with the men in red looking ever dangerous after the break.
58 mins: Goal for Bristol City! PNE have been under the kosh for much of this half, and after a quick counter, City's pressure has told. Adebola broke down the left, crossed with his left foot, and Maynard rose excellently to get his head on the ball, directing it low into the bottom right hand corner. Cue lots of bouncing. 0-1
56 mins: 16,596 supporters are in here this evening, 385 of which, to their credit, are from Preston.
54 mins: Maynard puts Lonergan under pressure, forcing the keeper to get there quickly and clear the danger.
49 mins: Both men look ok and return to the field as City return possession to us via an uncontested drop ball.
48 mins: Matt Radcliffe wins the all-physiotherapist 50 yard dash as both medical men from each side attended to the injured parties. Mawene and Maynard are the men needing attention after a clash of heads.
46 mins: I was warned that Bristol City fans in the home/away split Wedlock Stand (known more commonly to the locals as the 'East End') have a tendency to bounce around a lot - they've just started doing it (as, annoyingly, has the bloke in front of me, so I can't see the game).
1823: We're playing again, with a big 45 minutes to come.
1822: The teams are back out and the volume is pumped up again.
1807: I'm going off to talk nonsense on Whites World now, so I'll be back with you in around 15 minutes.
45+1 mins: Sedgwick, in behind McCombe, wins a corner off the defender, but City clear McKenna's corner and the half time whistle goes.
45 mins: Fontaine heads wide from a free-kick, just moments before the board goes up to inform us of one added minute.
44 mins: Another massive miss from the home side. Orr sends Sproule into acres of room down the right, and he cuts the ball back for Maynard, who attempts a side-footed shot from close to the penalty spot. With defenders throwing themselves at him, he loses his composure, scuffing it a fraction wide of goal.
43 mins: Basso, maybe distracted by the human banana behind his goal - spills McKenna's long range drive over the bar. Maybe a crucial stop - that ball was dipping under the bar according to my own human Hawkeye.
42 mins: I've seen it all now - there's also a North Ender in non-Hawaiian fancy dress. He's come as - yes, you guessed it - a banana.
41 mins: Apt that I described Jones' earlier effort as a banana kick - I've just noticed an inflatable banana being hurled around in the away end.
39 mins: Elliott breaks clear to open up a great shooting chance from an angle, but he surprises strike partner Parkin by cutting the ball back at pace, and The Beast misses his kick with defenders racing back all around him.
37 mins: Billy Jones tries the acrobatic as he attempts a banana kick, but his effort goes over the bar as the whistle sounds for an infringement. The chance came about after another sustained spell of PNE pressure - Sedgwick eventually crossing for Elliott to flick on before Jones tried his luck after racing forward.
30 mins: Eddie Nolan is playing well again at left back, this time getting forward and winning a corner as he tries to play an overlapping cross - the ball going behind off Fontaine.
29 mins: City keep whipping some threatening crosses in behind the PNE backline, but luckily McKenna is the latest in a long line of covering players able to hack clear the danger.
28 mins: Basso half spills Jones' cross, but luckily for him he reclaims with Williamson ready to pounce for a debut goal.
24 mins: A rarity. City are caught offside as they play a one-two at a corner. Given that the recipient of the return pass was still off the pitch, is he technically offside, or instead returning to the field illegally? It's a triviality anyway, we get the free-kick.
21 mins: Maynard releases Sproule on the right, and he finds Adebola totally unmarked in the centre with a looping cross. A certain goal - or so he thought. He heads over the top with the goal gaping, and that could be a key miss.
19 mins: Adebola heads just wide from a McIndoe cross - another near miss in a start that keeps both sets of fans on their feet.
14 mins: The local BBC commentator is in the seat next to me, and he has just explained that Bristol rugby club have today been relegated from the top flight, so if there's any mourning taking place in the city it's not happening here - the atmosphere is top drawer.
12 mins: McAllister hacks clear, and he had to after Parkin looked set to pounce on the rebound after Basso had parried Wallace's piledriver. Preston came forward at pace to create that chance - there's a superb vibrancy and positivity about the way both sides are playing. Probably the best opening to any of the away clashes I've seen this season. Hard to draw breath at the moment.
10 mins: Fontaine and Basso collide as they try to deal with Parkin's header at goal from Wallace's cross, Elliott stabbing the loose ball just wide of target as it drops unchallenged into an inviting spot.
8 mins: An early appearance for physio Matt Radcliffe as Stephen Elliott stays down holding his head after tussling for a loose ball.
7 mins: Both teams are starting at a fair pace - City really in our faces whenever we have the ball.
6 mins: A frantic minute or so of defending. Mawene. St. Ledger and Williamson all have to throw their bodies in the way of the ball as City keep piling crosses and shots into the box; Johnson and Adebola both launching pot shots towards target. An exciting start.
4 mins: Our younger readers may be enthused to learn that our new boy, Lee Williamson, wears yellow boots (I presume they used to match his old kit). Other players appearing to be wearing non-orthodox colour boots (e.g. not black), are Elliott, St. Ledger and Wallace, who all appear to be wearing white.
3 mins: Adebola spins and tries to shoot inside the PNE box but St. Ledger makes a key block just in time.
2 mins: Parkin and McCombe tussle hard inside the box - that could be a tussle to watch.
1 min: Chris Sedgwick wins a corner for PNE right in front of the travelling fans, many of whom are in Hawaiian dress in these tropical climes.
1721: The game is underway.
1719: Huddle alert. We're facing a team that likes a pre-match huddle tonight. Maybe we should do a survey to see how many opposing sides that do that actually go on to win?
1718: I've just had to hang an extra microphone out of the press box window in order to give a greater semblance of atmosphere for those listening in at home - our commentator Matt Hardman is behind glass so he's a little cut off from the atmosphere. I'm pleased to say that the window pane in front of my seat is missing so I have a clearer view, although there's no shifting the ladder to the gantry and a number of slim pillars that block certain segments of my view.
1716: Here come the teams - slightly earlier than I expected them - possibly aimed at suiting the TV company here today as they like to squeeze a quick break in before kick-off.
1650: OK, here we go. If you're a World subscriber, tune in now for full match coverage. If you're not, subscribe now so you don't miss out! Make sure you send in your e-mails via the usual address...
1648: I can see several people who resemble Fans Team stars in the away end (apparently they won convincingly earlier today) but no sign of the main man from their number, Steve Cowell, up here in the press box. He better hurry because we're on air in a couple of minutes with PNE Live.
1645: The team sheets I have just mentioned are upon us. There's a debut - as you may expect - for Preston with Lee Williamson in the side ahead of Darren Carter, while Simon Whaley moves to the bench with the skipper, Paul McKenna, back in the fold after missing Charlton.
PNE: Lonergan, Jones, Mawene, St. Ledger, Nolan, Sedgwick, McKenna (capt), Williamson, Wallace, Parkin, Elliott. Subs: Neal, Carter, Chilvers, Whaley, Mellor.
Bristol City: Basso, Orr, Fontaine, McCombe (capt), McAllister, McIndoe, Johnson, Skuse, Sproule, Adebola, Maynard. Subs: Williams, Trundle, Elliott, John, Henderson.
1640: Another away day, another technical distaster! Welcome, later than usual, to our minute-by-minute coverage from Ashton Gate, which is bathed in sunshine, making it a very welcoming venue for PNE on their travels. The locals have been very hospitable too (excellent chicken balti pies and high spirits all round in the press room), while the park over the road was a hive of activity, with a game of Saturday league football providing entertainment for those who didn't fancy sunbathing or the swings. The local internet connectivity leaves less to be desired, but I'm on now thanks to the PA announcer, and hopefully things will stay that was because I can see team sheets coming.
By Adrian Ward.
