Hundreds of PNE fans were in attendance in Spain as Ryan Lowe’s side were beaten 2-1 by Getafe.
North End had gone ahead inside the opening two minutes of the game through Ryan Ledson, but two goals from Gastón Álvarez Sosa in the second half turned the tie around.
The PNE fans were still arriving in their numbers from Benidorm when Ledson turned the ball home, with Robbie Brady’s cross from the right being met at the back post by the central midfielder to open the scoring early.
Brady was involved again on five minutes, sending in another great cross, which Brad Potts sliced over the crossbar.
Republic of Ireland international Brady went into the book on 31 minutes after one of his challenges led to a bit of a melee by the North End touchline, in a half where decisions didn’t go the way of the side in red.
Getafe created a couple of chances after the hydration break just after the half-hour mark, with Carles Aleñá being denied by Freddie Woodman, before Sosa headed over in injury time.
Sosa scored early in the second half, though, as a Getafe free-kick was blocked but not cleared, and the central defender slammed home when the ball fell to him.
PNE made wholesale changes on the hour mark, with everyone but Ben Woodburn and Ben Whiteman being replaced.
Getafe came close to taking the lead just a couple of minutes later, with a flicked header from a corner going across the face of goal and bouncing back out off the post, before being cleared.
Sosa then scored the winner for his side six minutes from time, winning the header from the corner and beating Cornell.
PNE thought they’d got an equaliser late on through Alan Browne with a clever backheeled finish, however he was flagged offside.
PNE line-up: Woodman (Cornell, 60); Storey (Diaby, 60), Lindsay (Bauer, 60), Hughes (Cunningham, 60); Potts (Olosunde, 60), Whiteman (Amaral, 73), Ledson (McCann, 60), Brady (Coulton, 60); Johnson (Browne, 60), Woodburn (O’Neill, 73); Riis (Evans, 60).