Bailey Wright believes the point PNE picked up against Bradford could prove vital in the grand scheme of things.
The Lilywhites drew 2-2 against Phil Parkinson’s side at Deepdale after taking the lead through Wright in the second half, only to see Rory McArdle head the visitors level.
“It could be a good point in the end, obviously we’d have preferred the win, anyone would,” Wright told PNE.Com following the match.
“It was a battle right from the start, both teams had to fight their way through the game and it ended up being a game of set piece really in the end.
“A draw was probably a fair result.”
A crowd of over 11,000 fans created a white hot atmosphere inside the ground, which helped forge a feisty encounter on the pitch, and the 21-year-old Wright admits he enjoys playing in such highly charged games.
“It was a good atmosphere, it was quite loud,” he said.
“As a player most would say you don’t really listen too much to what goes on, you notice it because you can’t hear each other talking amongst yourselves.
“But it’s what you want to play in front of, nice loud atmospheres.”
The match pitted fourth against fifth in League One and the similarities were tangible as both sides enjoyed enforcing extended periods of pressure.
“It was an important game for both teams, we’re both up there near the top of the table and we’re both up where both clubs want to be,” Wright said.
“They’re a good side, they got promoted last year into the league and they’ve got a bit of momentum, they’re a strong looking side and they know their strengths and played to them quite well so we had to be up to that.”
In what is an uncommon occurrence, each goal came from a header – something that did not surprise Wright, not least because of the average height of North End’s opponents.
“You look at the size of their team, I think they score a few goals from headers to be honest,” he said.
“They’re a big physical team and they do it well and we finished our chances off well. We could have had a few more and they might have as well.”
The centre back got his goal in the 68th minute to put North End 2-1 up, with Scott Laird getting his second assist of the evening after also setting up Tom Clarke’s first half equaliser.
However, Wright - rather than bask in the glory of his second goal of the season - was quick to point out the defensive errors that led to Bradford’s leveller just five minutes later.
“It’s always nice to score, it’d have been nice if it’d have stayed 2-1,” he added.
“We got a bit sloppy for the second goal we conceded so I was happy with my goal I scored but disappointed with my defending.”
The draw means Preston have picked up four points from their last two games and Wright is hopeful the Lilywhites can use that platform to go on an extended unbeaten run.
“That’s what we always look to do, we’ve got Notts County on Saturday and we’ll look to get back to winning ways then,” he said.
“We’ll get back, recover and focus on and get ourselves ready for that game.”