Preston were dead and buried at 2-0 down against Sheffield United. Down to 10 men, two goals behind and having been dominated throughout, this looked like a bleak night for North End.
We’ve been here before. Fans are still scarred by the 3-0 home defeat to Blackburn Rovers last month, with North End meekly falling away after scoring a goal and a man down.
That wasn’t the case tonight. From what we’ve seen so far, that isn’t the case of a Ryan Lowe team.
Lowe just can’t go into damage limitation mode. It’s not who he is, it’s not what he wants from his players.
Lowe has talked about attitude, application, galvanising a fanbase that were completely turned off in the first half of the season.
In a bygone era, North End could have folded. Sheffield United have quality players throughout their team and will have smelled blood when Preston went down to 10 men.
Jayden Bogle and Billy Sharp had the Blades cruising at the break. They probably wouldn’t have seen a Preston fightback coming.
That’s where Lowe’s outlook comes in. It’s early days for the new Preston boss, and you can’t give him the keys to the city after just a handful of games.
Yet tonight was full of heart and desire, as well as the quality to actually get back into the game.
Half-time handed Lowe a chance to speak to his troops, no doubt urging them to give the second half absolutely everything they had.
Chances came and went. Alan Browne, Daniel Johnson and Emil Riis all went close before Browne fired North End back into the game.
With 20 minutes to play, Preston went for it. This was a crowd fully behind the North End players, creating an atmosphere that hasn’t been seen at Deepdale for some time.
Spurred on by the raw aggression of Ched Evans, Preston had impetus. Evans divides opinion, and everybody is entitled to theirs, but he makes a real impact off the bench.
Evans gave bloody Sheffield United noses – possibly quite literally – but he helped just give that extra 5 or 10% to the crowd.
With the seconds ticking away, the big moment arrived. Evans, peeling away to the right side, sent a cross into the box post.
Emil Riis ghosted into score, sending Deepdale wild. Having scored a last-gasp leveller to salvage a 2-2 draw away at Sheffield United earlier this season, the Blades will be sick of the sight of Riis.
From 2-0 down and a man down to 2-2 and with all the momentum, Preston showed all the characteristics that fans have been desperately yearning for in recent times.
If this is a glimpse of Ryan Lowe’s Preston for the foreseeable future, then sign us up – this is what North End have been missing.
The table may only say this was one point, but it feels like so much more to Preston fans.