Preston North End were beaten in the fifth minute of stoppage-time by Swansea City in the final away game of 2023.
It looked as though Liam Millar’s superb strike in the 67th minute was going to earn PNE a point on the road, after cancelling out Jamie Paterson’s opener.
That was until the 95th minute, though, when Paterson scored his second of the night to win the game for the hosts.
Six changes were made to the side which lost to Watford in the previous outing, with one of those being Dai Cornell, who came in for his first Championship start for the club.
From the off, North End were pressing the Swans high when they were in possession at the back, and almost capitalised on a couple of occasions.
The first chance of note for either side came a quarter of an hour in when Jamal Lowe sent a 25-yard effort wide of Cornell’s right-hand post.
Five minutes on, Ryan Ledson kept the ball alive when a cross was headed onto the edge of the area and Robbie Brady whistled a curling effort just wide of the top corner.
Cornell was called into his first meaningful action halfway through the opening period as Lowe’s close-range effort on the end of Josh Key’s cross looked destined for the back of the net, but the goalkeeper came up with a big stop.
Just after the half-hour mark, Brady went down in the area claiming he had been pulled to the ground by Key, however there was nothing doing for referee Robert Madley.
PNE were saved by the offside flag in the third minute of first-half added-time when Lowe found the back of the net, while Duane Holmes had the last opportunity of the half, heading a cross from substitute Millar – who replaced the injured Brady – wide of goal.
12 minutes into the second half, Ched Evans struck a promising, powerful effort towards the far corner, but Rushworth managed to keep it out, diving low to his right.
North End were then soon behind as, on the hour mark, Paterson cleverly swept Matt Grimes’ pass into the back of the net, via the post.
PNE weren’t trailing for long, though, with Millar drawing level just seven minutes later. He picked the ball up on the left, cut inside onto his right foot, and expertly curled it into the far corner, before celebrating in front of the traveling fans.
The Canada international almost had another in the 71st minute with pretty much an identical effort, but this time Rushworth got a finger to it to tip wide.
North End made attacking changes to try and win the game, with the likes of Milutin Osmajić and Mads Frøkjær coming on, and Ali McCann tried his luck late in the day with a long-range effort, but his strike went over the bar.
It looked as though the points would be shared until Paterson drilled the ball into the far corner in the fifth minute of stoppage-time to earn his side victory.
Swansea City line-up: Rushworth; Darling (Yates, 70), Cabango, Humphreys; Key (Naughton, 82), Fulton, Grimes, Tymon (Wood, 82); Walsh (Bolasie, 69), Paterson; Lowe (Cullen, 87). Subs not used: Fisher, Allen, Patino, Cooper.
PNE line-up: Cornell; Storey, Lindsay, Hughes; Potts, McCann, Ledson, Brady (Millar, 45); Holmes (Frøkjær, 77), Browne (Woodburn, 90+4); Evans (Osmajić, 77). Subs not used: Woodman, Whiteman, Keane, Whatmough, Best.
Attendance: 15,098 (246 PNE fans).
Referee: Mr R Madley.