[themaclad]

A shameless cut and past thread from the clubs website on our return to the Central League after a 10 year absence

Match Reports
Preston North End Reserves 1 Walsall Reserves 1


Brad Potts’ goal on the hour mark gave PNE a point in their first Central League game for a decade, against the Saddlers.

The Lilywhites, who saw a first half penalty from trialist Connor Wickham saved by visiting goalkeeper Jack Rose, dominated proceedings, but a third minute strike from a visiting trialist earned Walsall the draw.

Wickham partnered Josh Murphy in attack, supported by scorer Potts in an experienced side for the home team, in sweltering conditions at the Euxton training ground.



But it was the midland side that took the lead three minutes in, as one of the two trialists in Mat Sadler’s team – wearing No.8 - volleyed home from Danny Coogan’s cross to the back post from the right.

Wickham was a constant thorn in the Walsall side and he made a great run down the right, outpacing his full back, before his cut back towards Murphy was cut out. Moments later and the two combined in reverse, this time the Cardiff loanee going down the left before pulling a cross back to his strike partner, whose shot was blocked, Jamie Thomas following up, but firing inches wide from 18 yards.

On the 18-minute mark referee Nat Cox pointed to the penalty spot when the Walsall goalscorer fouled Brad Potts. Wickham fired low to keeper Rose’s right, but the stopper got down and pushed the ball away. North End were unlucky not to have a second spot kick seconds later, however, when Joe Rafferty was seemingly fouled by Noel Angafor, but this time the official waved away the strong shouts.

Murphy tested Rose again just before the half hour mark, cutting inside from the left and seeing his left-footed shot tipped over the bar and the Saddlers No.1 seemed to be the only defence between PNE and his goal in the closing stages of the half as he again denied Murphy, before the best save of the lot, clawing a shot from Adam O’Reilly out from the top left corner, after initial shots by Wickham and Murphy had been blocked.

Joe Rodwell-Grant replaced Murphy at half-time and was immediately into the game, shooting just wide of the right-hand post after running onto a Declan Rudd clearance and then pushing an effort just wide after a Thomas corner from the right, before another effort was deflected wide after he ran onto a well-directed Wickham flick on.

But on the hour mark the home side were deservedly level after good work from O’Reilly who breezed past his man down the left before finding Potts, who checked inside and caressed the ball into the bottom corner with his right foot.

Ethan Walker and Lewis Coulton replaced Lewis Leigh and Jack Baxter respectively in the final half hour and both were involved in further chances for North End.

Firstly Rodwell-Grant got down the right and drilled a ball back for Walker, only for his shot to fly just past the post and then Coulton did well from left back to find Potts, with Rose again the hero with a superb save.

And the Saddlers’ man of the match denied PNE the win when Rodwell-Grant was sent one-on-one through on goal in a left-hand channel; he drew the custodian and tried to put it across him into the bottom right-hand corner of the goal, but it was saved and the game ended all-square.

PNE line-up: Rudd, O’Reilly. Baxter (Coulton, 70), Rafferty, Huntington, Cunningham ©, Thomas, Potts, Wickham, Murphy (Rodwell-Grant, 60), Leigh (Walker, 58). Subs not used: Pradic, Lewis.

Referee: Mr N Cox

Attendance: 157

[themaclad]

Playing Carlisle at the moment although playing could be a loose translation as we are 5 up approaching half time

[themaclad]

Match Report: PNE Reserves 5 Carlisle United 0
5 October 2021




@pnefc

Preston North End claimed a convincing 5-0 victory over Carlisle United in the Central League Cup.

PNE went into the break with a five-goal lead, with the returning Tom Barkhuizen opening the scoring, and braces followed from Brad Potts and Josh Murphy.

Scott Sinclair saw a penalty saved in the second half, and Jamie Thomas and Murphy were among those to also come close, but the scoring stopped at five.


North End named a strong side to take on the Cumbrians, with Barkhuizen one of those involved from the start, playing his first minutes since the opening day of the Championship season.

He was the man to break the deadlock seven minutes in as he blocked goalkeeper Adam Smith’s clearance before tapping home into the empty net.

The forward was then involved in the home side’s second, as he worked his way into the box before crossing for Potts to smash home a volley from six yards.

Zack Clough, formerly of Bolton Wanderers, had the next chance of the game, showing good feet before firing an effort at goal, which Declan Rudd was equal to, tipping over the bar.

On 34 minutes, North End got their third of the afternoon, with Adam O’Reilly throwing down the line for Potts to run on to, before he fired the ball across the face of goal for Murphy to tuck home at the far post.

The on-loan Cardiff man was soon involved in the fourth of the afternoon, slotting through to Joe Rafferty inside the box, and the left back put a nice ball right across the face of goal and Potts was there to finish to seal a brace and an assist within the first half.

There was still time for a fifth, though, as a long ball over the top was flicked on by a defender and Murphy stayed calm to slot past Smith just before the break.

Five minutes into the second period, Murphy was almost set up for a hat-trick, but Keelan Leslie’s defending put it out for a corner. In the play which followed the set piece, Liam Lindsay found himself in a crossing position, whipping the ball in for Joe Rodwell-Grant, but the forward couldn’t find the target with his header.

Goalkeeper Smith frustrated North End’s attackers over the next period of the game, thwarting the likes of Barkhuizen and Murphy with smart stops, before then saving a Scott Sinclair penalty, after he had been guilty of bringing down Rodwell-Grant.

The Lilywhites were perhaps unfortunate to not be awarded another as Murphy was clipped but chose to stay on his feet, sending an effort wide as he lost his footing, but the referee waved away appeals.

The woodwork stopped both teams adding to the scoreline, firstly with the bar preventing Jamie Thomas’ fantastic 30-yard strike, before Manasse Mampala then hit the post at the other end.

Carlisle had another late chance, with Leslie sending an effort goalwards in the closing stages, but Rudd produced the save to maintain his side's clean sheet.

PNE line-up: Rudd; O’Reilly, Huntington, Lindsay, Rafferty; Sinclair, Thomas, Potts, Murphy; Rodwell-Grant (O’Neill, 76), Barkhuizen. Subs not used: Hudson, Baxter, Nevin, Leigh.

Carlisle United line-up: Smith, Barnett (Fishburn, 45), Leslie, Devine, Ellis (Watt, 67), Kilsby, Mampala, Charters, Abrahams (Garvey, 79), Clough (Carr, 60), Bell.

Referee: Mr J Graham

[themaclad]

Preston North End Reserves 3 Bolton Wanderers Reserves 0
5 Hours ago




@pnefc

Goals from Mikey O’Neill, Joe Rodwell-Grant and Adam O’Reilly gave the Lilywhites a comfortable victory in their latest Central League fixture.

They were two up at the break against Bolton Wanderers at Euxton, O’Neill firing home from the returning Matthew Olosunde’s right-wing cross, before Rodwell-Grant scored a poacher’s goal, on the edge of the six-yard box after skipper Paul Huntington had fired Jamie Thomas’ corner goalwards.

And they capped off a positive display with five minutes to go when some good play saw Irish midfielder O’Reilly collect the ball just inside the box, with his shot deflecting off a defender and up and over the Trotters’ trialist goalkeeper Mateusz Hewelt.


Olosunde was making his first competitive appearance in a lilywhite shirt, having not played any football since the pre-season trip to St Johnstone and after feeling his way into the game, he had a positive impact and played an hour, as had been scheduled beforehand.

It was quite a young side that North End had out, but they were in the ascendency from the off. Liam Edwards had to make a block from Jacob Holland-Wilkinson’s effort, after Lewis Coulton’s cross from the left on nine minutes.

Holland-Wilkinson was again involved five minutes later; good play from the forward to find O’Reilly down the right, but his reverse ball was just behind the PNE players in the crowded penalty area.

Joe Blanchard headed down a Lewis Leigh cross that led to Rodwell-Grant having an effort smothered by Hewelt, before a good lay-off from O’Neill gave Thomas a chance to shoot, the stopper tipping over. From the resulting Thomas corner, Huntington headed inches wide of the right-hand post.

But it was 1-0 just before the half hour mark after Olosunde showed a clean pair of heels to the Bolton left back, got to level with the six-yard line before delivering a hard low cross, that O’Neill fired into the net at the back post.

And it was 2-0 within two minutes as Thomas swung over a corner from the right to the edge of the box, where Huntington put the ball back into the area for Rodwell-Grant to fire into the roof of the net from the edge of the six-yard box.

With a few minutes to go before half-time, there was almost a carbon copy of the second goal, however this time Hewelt managed to get his chest in the way of Rodwell-Grant’s effort.

The second half was much of the same; O’Reilly nicked the ball off the Bolton midfield on 52 minutes before sending Rodwell-Grant down a left-hand channel. He cut in and shot goalwards, but the visiting custodian saved with his legs.

The only real chance of the game created by Wanderers came a minute later as Mitchell Henry had a shot saved by Mathew Hudson and then Matthew Tweedley put the follow-up just wide.

Just before the hour mark a curling effort from O’Neill, from 20 yards out, came off the head of Bolton captain Liam Edwards, which took it narrowly past the right-hand upright, with Hewelt beaten.

But the third finally arrived with just five minutes left; O’Reilly working himself space on the edge of the area to open up his body for a shot, that Edwards got a boot on, but only enough to take the ball up and over Hewelt and into the goal.

Two good chances in the final minute came the way of Rodwell-Grant to add to his and the team’s total, created by two substitutes – Harry Nevin and Levi Lewis – but the first came back off the bar and the second brought another good save from the visiting No.1 and the game finished 3-0.

PNE line-up: Hudson, Olosunde (Nevin, 58), Coulton, Leigh (Lewis, 82), Huntington ©, Blanchard (Mfuni, 86), Holland-Wilkinson (Cross-Adair, 73), O’Reilly, Rodwell-Grant, Thomas, O’Neill. Sub not used: Pradic.

Bolton Wanderers line-up: Hewelt, Burgess, Conway, Sharples, Toure, Edwards ©, Olawumi, Tweedley, McEvoy, Pettifer, Henry. Subs not used: Halford, Alexander, Jones, Kamara, Frimpong.

Referee: Mr B Lamb

Attendance: 106

[themaclad]

Match Report: PNE Reserves 3 Fleetwood Town 2


Ethan Walker’s late stoppage-time goal sealed a victory for Preston North End reserves against Fleetwood Town in the Central League Cup.

Walker opened the scoring for the Lilywhites at Euxton after 28 minutes, finishing after good work from Joe Rodwell-Grant, who later doubled the scoring from a spot kick.

The visitors then came back into it in the second half, equalising in the third minute of added time, before Walker produced a superb solo goal to give his side the win.


There was a quiet opening to the game, with the first real chance for either side coming 24 minutes in, as Matthew Olosunde found Jacob Holland-Wilkinson with a cross from the right, but his flick goalwards was kept out by goalkeeper Luc Rees.

He did well a few moments later, too, to initially keep out Walker’s effort, after he’d been found in the box following good work from Rodwell-Grant, but Rees couldn’t keep out the rebound as Walker opened the scoring.

PNE didn’t have to wait too long for their second of the afternoon, as they were given a chance to score from 12 yards after Adam O’Reilly’s cross had struck the arm of Akile Raffie, and up stepped Rodwell-Grant to power home to the goalkeeper’s left.

At the other end, Raffie had Fleetwood’s first shot of the game when he saw his free-kick comfortably saved by Mathew Hudson.

Before the break, North End could have had a third were it not for great defending by a Fleetwood trialist, who denied Walker and Rodwell-Grant who looked to get on the end of captain Greg Cunningham’s cutback.

The Cod Army pulled a goal back in the opening stages of the second half, with a trialist sending a 25-yard free-kick right into the top corner, giving Mathew Hudson no chance.

PNE took the opportunity to bring a number of U19s on as substitutes in the second half, with the likes of Jacob Slater and Vaughn Green getting a chance to play with members of the first team.

Fellow U19 Lewis Leigh, who started the game, was forced off with an injury after 78 minutes meaning North End had to play the remainder of the tie with ten men.

Goalkeeper Hudson was called into action a couple of times before the equaliser came, making a smart stop to deny Raffie before then making an acrobatic save from a volley inside the area.

The goal did come for the visitors before time was up, though, with Raffie taking the ball out of the sky to volley home and seemingly earn a draw for his side, but Walker had other ideas, picking the ball up and running towards goal and expertly finding the far corner to earn the victory for North End.

PNE line-up: Hudson; Rafferty, Lindsay, Blanchard (Mfuni, 70); Olosunde (Green, 61), Leigh, O’Reilly, Cunningham (Slater, 61); Holland-Wilkinson (Pemberton, 74), Rodwell-Grant, Walker. Subs not used: Lombard.

Fleetwood line-up: Rees; Jones, Bird, Trialist B, Trialist A; Trialist D, Boyle, Raffie; Edwards, Trialist C (King, 70), McMillen. Subs not used: Eastham, Thompson-Prempeh, Marsh, Johnson.

Referee: Mr M Mitchell

The Trialist brothers playing for Fleetwood put up a stern fight

[themaclad]

Match Report: PNE Reserves 4 Accrington Stanley 2


A brace from Scott Sinclair and goals from Joe Rodwell-Grant and Mikey O'Neill gave PNE reserves a 4-2 victory over Accrington Stanley in the Central League.

An unfortunate Liam Lindsay own goal had given the visitors the lead, but Rodwell-Grant’s header just a few minutes later drew North End level.

Two goals from Sinclair in the space of as many first-half minutes sent the Lilywhites into the break with a comfortable lead and O'Neill scored North End's fourth in the second half, before Jamie Thomas' own goal made it 4-2.


North End were the side on top from the off and had big chances to open the scoring in the first 15 minutes, firstly through Scott Sinclair who headed Greg Cunningham’s cross wide.

Sinclair was threatening again on 11 minutes, chasing a short back-pass and, after his shot was saved by Liam Isherwood, he pulled it back for Thomas, and his scuffed effort found its way to Rodwell-Grant, who shot wide.

Brad Potts then had two great chances himself, but was denied by Isherwood on both occasions, the first being a great stop at the bottom corner and he was then kept out one-on-one after Lindsay played him through.

Against the run of play, the visitors took the lead in bizarre fashion as Lindsay’s back-pass made its way past Connor Ripley in goal.

North End made a quick response, though, equalising just three minutes later as Rodwell-Grant confidently headed home Cunningham’s cross from the left-hand side.

The home side took the lead on 41 minutes, with Sinclair confidently slotting home after being played through on goal by Ryan Ledson.

Good work from Adam O’Reilly just a minute later created Sinclair’s second of the afternoon, with the forward seeing his initial shot saved but he made no mistake with the second, finding the roof of the net.

PNE could have had a fourth on the hour mark, with Lindsay rising highest to meet Ledson’s corner, but he couldn’t find the target with his header.

Ripley was called upon at the other end shortly after, being forced to produce a smart reflex save to deny Josh Woods, and Accrington’s No.11 came close again moments later with a cross which had the goalkeeper worried as it looked to be creeping in, but bounced off the top of the crossbar.

PNE extended their lead with a quarter of an hour to go, as substitute O’Neill took the ball in well from Potts to calmly slot home past the goalkeeper.

Just before the end, though, a dangerous Accrington Stanley free-kick was inadvertently put beyond Ripley by North End midfielder Thomas, but it wasn't to prove important as the whites took the three points.

PNE line-up: Ripley; Storey, Huntington ©, Lindsay (Coulton, 60); O’Reilly, Ledson (Seary, 65), Thomas, Potts (Cross-Adair, 76), Cunningham; Rodwell-Grant, Sinclair (O’Neill, 65). Subs not used: Pradic.

Accrington Stanley line-up: Isherwood; Clark (Patrick, 45), Pleavin (Sama, 45), Moonan, Carson; Martin, Scully ©, Nolan (Stowe, 61), Woods; Mansell (Hardy, 61), Charles (Doherty, 81).

Attendance: 110

Referee: Mr J Graham

[themaclad]

Match Report: Walsall Reserves 0 PNE Reserves 5

A 14-minute first half hat-trick from Mikey O’Neill was the highlight in a dominant performance from a young Lilywhites side, as they kept up their excellent form in the Central League.

O’Neill grabbed his treble with three well-taken strikes, all from the edge of the penalty area, between the 22nd and 36th minute, to give the side – taken by Academy manager Nick Harrison – a 3-0 half-time lead.

Teddy Mfuni then made it four from close range, after an Adam O’Reilly corner, before Joe Rodwell-Grant grabbed his fifth goal of the season in the competition to round-off an excellent afternoon at Birmingham FA.



O’Reilly was the most experienced member of a youthful side, skippering the XI that included seven scholars, three of them being first years, and it was the Irish midfielder that led from the front in the opening stages, winning the ball in midfield, beating two men, before firing just over from 20 yards in the sixth minute.

The first real clear-cut chance came when Lewis Leigh played the ball into Josh Seary, who in turn found O’Neill; he rode a challenge as he came in from the right and fired goalwards, Tommy Jackson in the Saddlers goal making his first fine save of the game to tip the ball behind for a corner.

But the PNE No.10 was not to be denied four minutes later as Harry Nevin played the ball forward. Rodwell-Grant took the ball under control and laid it off to O’Neill, who shot low from the edge of the box into the bottom right corner.

It was almost two within 60 seconds, as Mfuni rose highest to meet an O’Reilly corner from the right, 15 yards out, but his powerful effort flashed wide of the right-hand upright.

O’Neill got his second on 34 minutes. This time a ball into Rodwell-Grant allowed the forward to run at the Walsall defence, firing in a shot from the edge of the ‘D’. It came back off a defender and fell to his strike partner, who drove an excellent finish with his right foot into the bottom left-hand corner.

And less than two minutes later he completed his hat-trick, as this time Noah Mawene picked up the ball in his own half, drove forward and then played a perfectly weighted ball through for O’Neill, who took one touch before burying his shot into the bottom left corner, again from 20 yards out.

He was denied a fourth before half-time by an offside flag which appeared harsh, albeit when an initial shot came off Jackson, it looked like it came back off O'Neill's arm before going into the back of the net.

Josh Seary was replaced by Finlay Wallbank at half-time, but the game continued in the same vein after the interval – Jackson making his best save so far on 49 minutes to deny Rodwell-Grant, who was cutting in from the left, putting the ball behind.

But the relief lasted seconds, as O’Reilly’s ball in from the right bounced around in the penalty area and centre half Mfuni fired home from the edge of the six-yard box.

And it was five on 52 minutes when O’Neill this time turned provider, as he slid in Rodwell-Grant who bore down on Jackson, who managed to get something on the striker’s shot, but the ball squirmed under him and into the net.

Chances continued to come, with Rodwell-Grant denied his own hat-trick by two excellent saves from the Walsall stopper, with Mawene involved in both moves.

Mawene himself headed just wide from Leigh’s cross from a left-wing free-kick just after the hour mark and Rodwell-Grant also put a headed effort just wide, this time from Jacob Slater’s perfectly-weighted ball from the left.

The final opportunity of the game went to the captain; O’Reilly sent clear by Mawene, firing a vicious effort on target, only to see Jackson make his final and best save of the game, as it ended 5-0 to the visitors.

Walsall line-up: Jackson, Baldwin, Taylor (Shaw, 46), Worley ©, Derry, Cristofaro (Angafor, 82), Onabirekhanlen, Maher, Edwards (Wisdom, 62), Simcox, Manton. Subs not used: Hedge, Sawyers.

PNE line-up: Lombard, Mfuni, Blanchard, Leigh, Nevin, O’Reilly, Seary (Wallbank, 46), Mawene (Amaral, 84), Rodwell-Grant, O’Neill (Cross-Adair, 68), Slater (Green, 77). Sub not used: Pradic.

Attendance: 40

[themaclad]

Bambo Diaby admitted he couldn’t have imagined a better return to action after over two years out of football, marking his first appearance for PNE with a clean sheet and a goal in the Central League.

The defender, who officially joined the club in January, featured for North End for the first time on Tuesday afternoon, starting and scoring against Bolton Wanderers for the reserves side.

PNE came out 2-0 winners at the Trotters’ training ground, with Bambo breaking the deadlock and Joe Rodwell-Grant netting a second to seal another three points in the Central League.

Speaking post-match, Bambo said: “I enjoyed it a lot. It’s my first game after a long time. Since my first day here, every day I’ve imagined my first game with this shirt, and today when I put the kit on it was like ‘okay now is the time to enjoy’.

“You can’t imagine that [scoring a goal]. I just imagined to play good and to do my best on the pitch.

“As a centre back if you get a chance to score you have to do it and today God helped me. The ball is coming to my head, I scored and I’m very happy and it helped me to get more confidence going forward.”

The Senegal-born man, formerly of Barnsley, celebrated right in front of the cameras, putting his fingers to his ears to silence those who have doubted him in the past few years.

He added: “My celebration is because for a long time people talk too much about me. Me and my family have suffered a lot in this situation and I don’t need to listen.

“I just close my ears and enjoy. Enjoy the football and enjoy working hard.

“I am focused on that and not what the people are saying behind me.”

Manager Ryan Lowe was in attendance – alongside the rest of his backroom staff – and he has stated openly he has been waiting to see the defender in action.

Bambo is yet to make his senior competitive bow since joining, but the hard work for him has continued in recent weeks behind the scenes.

He said: “On the game I’m not focused to impress anyone. I try to do my best to help the team, to help myself, to enjoy and step by step to get some chances to play with the first team.

“I’m always working hard to get the opportunity to get some minutes with the first team.”

North End’s line-up against Bolton was made up mainly of those in Nick Harrison’s U19s, who currently sit top of their league table.

Bambo has been keeping an eye on their results and believes there is a future in the game for many of PNE’s youngsters.

“We have quality,” he said. “I follow the U19s and see that they’re first in the table. I think they’ve scored a lot of goals in the last few games, it’s unbelievable.

“I enjoy playing with them because it’s football. It’s not about them being young, for me the most important thing is the attitude.

“It doesn’t matter if they’re young or old, I just try to learn because you learn from everyone.

“Sometimes you learn from a kid, sometimes you learn from older people and these lads have quality, and I think if they continue like this we will have very good footballers here.”

[themaclad]

Match Report: PNE Reserves 0 Fleetwood Town 0


Preston North End reserves were held to a goalless draw at home against Fleetwood Town in the Central League.

Josh Murphy – playing his first minutes in over four months as he stepped up his return from injury – was among those, alongside Lewis Coulton and Mikey O’Neill, to see efforts come close.

North End created all of the first-half chances at Euxton, with Coulton and O’Neill both denied by good saves from visiting goalkeeper Tom Donaghy within the first 20 minutes.



Fleetwood’s first shot of note came shortly after, with James Pradic catching Danny Edwards’ shot from distance, before Josh Seary went down the other end and shot a matter of inches wide from inside the area.

PNE continued to be the side on top and Murphy showed great feet on 40 minutes to nutmeg one defender, before beating another, but his shot was deflected wide at close range.

Goalless at the break, North End had a good shout for a penalty just short of the hour mark, with Murphy sending a good ball through to Noah Mawene, and he appeared to be brought down in the area, but the referee gave nothing.

Soon after, Murphy, in his last action of the game ahead of his planned substitution around the 60th minute, shot across goal and had his low effort saved, although a goal-kick was awarded.

From that point on, both sides were reduced to half chances, with the defences keeping tight, and the points were shared at Euxton.

PNE line-up: Pradic; Nevin, Huntington (Mfuni, 62), Coulton; Seary, Leigh, Mawene (Walker, 81), Olosunde, Slater (Blanchard, 75); O’Neill, Murphy (Rodwell-Grant, 62). Subs not used: Lombard.

Fleetwood Town line-up: Donaghy; Baker, Bird, Johnson (Hoyle, 45); Thiam, Thompson, Edwards, White (Kearns, 45), Batch (Leggett, 83); Smith, McMillan. Subs not used: Rees, Thompson-Prempeh.

Referee: Mr D Strain.

[themaclad]

Match Report: Accrington Stanley 4 PNE Reserves 4

An injury-time goal from Aaron Bennett helped Preston North End reserves earn a point against Accrington Stanley in a 4-4 draw in the Central League.

Goals from Jack Nolan and Marcel Lewis gave Stanley a half-time lead, and after Vaughn Green then got one back for North End, the visitors to Euxton – who were officially the home team – extended their lead almost immediately through Nolan.

PNE then scored two quick-fire goals on 61 and 63 minutes through Mikey O’Neill and Joe Rodwell-Grant respectively, and Owen Devonport claimed the lead back for Stanley on 75 minutes, before Bennett's long-range deflected strike in the 92nd minute earned a point.



It was Accrington Stanley who started off on the front foot, with Lewis seeing a close-range effort blocked before Tommy Leigh then had a 20-yard shot tipped wide by Oliver Lombard.

At the other end, O’Neill had a good chance to open the scoring on 22 minutes, with the ball falling kindly to him inside the area, but he fired just inches wide.

Accrington Stanley then took the lead just after the half-hour mark, as Lombard’s punch fell to Nolan, who found the bottom corner to break the deadlock.

After Jacob Slater headed over from close range for PNE, Stanley then doubled their advantage on 42 minutes, with a cross from the left landing with Lewis, and he was able to convert from inside the box.

Six minutes into the second period, North End got a goal back, as Bennett floated a nice cross towards the far post where Green was lurking and was able to tap home.

Accrington soon restored their two-goal advantage, though, as Nolan scored his second of the afternoon, firing a left-footed effort across Lombard and into the far corner.

Seven minutes later the gap was back down to one as O’Neill converted a spot-kick to the goalkeeper’s right, after Rodwell-Grant was brought down by Stephen Sama in the area.

North End then got straight back to it from kick-off, as a lovely interchange between O’Neill and Bennett saw the latter take aim, and the save which kept his shot out fell to Rodwell-Grant who was able to tap home to draw level.

PNE so nearly took the lead on 66 minutes when Kian Taylor broke free down the right and struck the bottom of the ‘keeper’s right-hand post.

It was Stanley who went in front, though, as substitute Devonport headed home from close range on 75 minutes, meeting a cross from the left, and Emerich Poilly almost made it five in the closing stages, but struck against the post.

That miss proved costly as, in the second minute of stoppage time, Bennett saw his effort deflect over the top of the goalkeeper and find the top corner to seal a draw.

PNE line-up: Lombard; Walbank, Blanchard, Best; Seary (Taylor, 50), Amaral, O’Neill, Bennett, Slater; Rodwell-Grant, Green. Subs not used: Davis, Lewis, Nelson, Cross-Adair.

Accrington Stanley line-up: Isherwood; Sama, Rich-Baghuelou, Proctor; Patrick, Moonan, Leigh (Polly, 75), Pritchard (Stowe, 45), Nolan; O’Sullivan (Devonport, 68), Lewis (Trickett, 85). Subs not used: Hood, Trickett.

Referee: Mr A Ball.

Attendance: 93.