'Decent point' for Preston in 'testing situation'

Preston's result at Watford was a case of putting the point in the bag and heading back north relatively satisfied.

Everyone who was at the match will probably watch a better spectacle this season, but it is the sort of result that if you are serious about a play-off push, a point at Vicarage Road is certainly not the end of the world.

It is probably a point gained rather than two dropped.

North End's starting XI showed three changes. Jordan Thompson made his full debut, while Jamal Lewis and Daniel Jebbison returned to the team. Both Lewis and Jebbison are former Hornets loanees; it always makes sense to sling them in to see if it gets the desired effect.

Jebbison has already inflicted defeat on another of his former clubs, Sheffield United, this season with a winning goal and it could have been the same again. He produced the coolest of finishes after being played through by Lewis Dobbin to open the scoring. It was the perfect response to the boo boys in the home stands for the Canada international.

Following the opener, North End were the better side for a 15-minute spell and it looked like they might double the advantage on a couple of occasions.

Alfie Devine was a threat in the first half, popping up in some great positions. He fired over and Stefan Thordarson was not far away from his first of the season.

But, with a few minutes to go to the interval, they got loose in possession. The ball was turned over far too often and an equaliser on the stroke of half-time had been coming. A scruffy goal was conceded in stoppage time, a similar time to conceding to Blackburn Rovers on Friday.

Into the second half and skipper for the night Liam Lindsay brought the best from Hornets keeper Nathan Baxter as he tipped a header onto the post, but the majority of the questions were coming from the home side.

It is important to remember that Paul Heckingbottom's side had eight subs for the game, with two of them being goalkeepers.

Injuries to seven first-team players, as well as the club captain serving a one-match ban and the leading scorer being banned until after Christmas, would be a testing situation for pretty much all clubs at second-tier level.

Huge credit to the travelling fans for braving the 400-mile round trip on a Tuesday evening to cheer on their team. It was not a classic, but it was a really decent point against a team who had won four out of their previous five at home.