After netting a 90th-minute winner in a Lancashire derby against Blackburn Rovers, Liam Lindsay could barely find the words to describe what the moment meant to him.
PNE gave themselves a first-half lead in style courtesy of skipper Alan Browne, who took a beautiful touch before slamming past the goalkeeper, but that advantage was wiped away just a few minutes into the second half.
It looked as though, despite chances for both sides and the woodwork coming into play on a few occasions, the points would be shared, until Liam popped up in the final minute of normal time to cue bedlam both on and off the pitch.
Asked if he could sum it all up, Liam said: “Not really. I’m absolutely buzzing. To do that in a derby, it’s just amazing really.
“It gives the fans something to sing about, bragging rights, and I’m absolutely buzzing.
“It’s never happened for me so I have no idea [what it feels like] until now but amazing. I’m kind of lost for words, but it’s just amazing.
“Just to score at that time and seeing it out 2-1 – they’re a good team as well.
“The game probably wasn’t the best to watch but we got the win and I think that’s all that matters.
“The feeling I think it’ll take a couple of days because if you bottled that feeling up you’d make millions I think. Absolutely brilliant, I’m absolutely buzzing.”
The moment. 💉#pnefc pic.twitter.com/YRHl3e4N0i
— Preston North End FC (@pnefc) November 10, 2023
With the match being played at a rapid pace right from the start, North End had the crossbar to thank on a couple of occasions in the first half, but most importantly they were thanking their captain on 35 minutes for a piece of brilliance.
Sammie Szmodics equalised in the 49th minute, though, and PNE had to weather a bit of a storm from that point, before earning a victory in arguably the best way possible – a last-gasp winner in front of a packed-out away end.
“It was a tough game,” Liam admitted. “They didn’t play with a striker. Well, they did, but obviously he was dropping in and it was tough for the defenders deciding whether to go or not.
“They obviously work on it really well. They play good football, but we knew that before the game.
“[It was about showing] more grit and kind of being more physical with them and I think we did that.
“It worked to a tee what we set out to do.”