9:23am Monday 25th August 2008
By Blake Welton
Preston North End maintained an unbeaten start to the season but were relieved to leave Hillsborough with a point after a dismal first half performance.
With Preston’s recent form and 1,500 fans attempting to ‘Yellow Out Yorkshire’ on a sunny South Yorkshire day, the game promised much but delivered little from a PNE perspective in the first period.
In an end to end start, Chris Sedgwick’s cross was palmed into the path of Sheffield Wednesday’s Jermaine Johnson whose pace took him half-way down the field before crossing for Deon Burton to flick onto an unmarked Sean McAllister.
Fortunately he was unable to convert but it was an early warning for the North End faithful.
Preston then had a goal harshly disallowed as Mellor was adjudged to be offside despite stopping his run to prevent him from being ‘active’ in the play.
However, when the ball was headed back into his feet he rightly played Simon Whaley through who finished with a crisp right-foot volley to no avail.
However, Sheffield Wednesday dominated the majority of the half with the trickery and pace of wingers Jermaine Johnson and Regi Blinker incarnate Etienne Esajas causing North End’s backline all sort of problems.
It was the former who put through Marcus Tudgay, only to see the forward’s toe-poke narrowly miss the far post minutes before Sheffield Wednesday went ahead.
PNE keeper Andy Lonergan was continually unsettled by the physical presence of the Wednesday forwards and when he came for a corner and was left stranded, McAllister floated the ball into the net to make it 1-0.
The Owls could have doubled their lead as Johnson tormented Matt Hill before shooting over from a narrow angle.
At half-time it wasn’t just the Tinsley Towers that looked like being demolished as Preston were more than fortunate to only be one goal down.
The second half started just as ominously as Chris Sedgwick cleared off the line from a corner and Esajas continued to dance around Preston defenders as if they weren’t there.
Alan Irvine threw Ross Wallace and Karl Hawley into the fray - effective changes as Richard Chaplow found space on the edge of the box who laid off for Sedgwick to have a shot.
The two combined again minutes later with a succession of corners creating opportunities for an equaliser but Wednesday continually threatened on the counter, especially with the pace of Johnson and Esajas. Sedgwick, having changed flanks with the arrival of substitute Wallace, then robbed Wednesday defender Tommy Spurr and played the ball into Chaplow, who looped over the bar.
Preston’s second half performance was much improved and they equalised minutes later when a sublime ball by Wallace was met by Sedgwick who was able to pick a perfect pass for Chaplow to rifle home.
From then on there seemed to be only one winner as Hawley was put through but was blatantly fouled but nothing was given while at the death a corner by Wallace was met by Youl Mawene in acres of space but he failed to convert.
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