pne 2 wolves 1

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PNE 2 Wolves 1

North End took another giant step towards safety with a third consecutive win.


A penalty from Callum Davidson and a great strike from Simon Whaley helped PNE to come back from a goal down for the first time this season.

Unsurprisingly Alan Irvine had kept faith with the side that did so well to win at Charlton, although the team took a while to get going.

The visitors had the best of the early chances with Lonergan yet again having to come off his line and make an excellent one-on-one save to keep the scoreline blank.

But as the half wore on, PNE began to come into the game more, with North End's most threatening moments appearing to coincide with some particularly dramatic torrential downpours as the heavens opened.

But the two sides went in at the interval with the score still at 0-0 and little to show for 45 minutes of huffing and puffing.

The second half began at a frantic pace, with the two teams attacking in end-to-end fashion.

The best chance was created when Billy Jones ran nearly the full length of the field before unleashing a cracking shot that clipped the outside of the post before going wide.

The visitors had introduced Andy Keogh at the break and, just like last season, he proved to be a real thorn in North End's side.

Keogh beat Youl Mawene to a loose ball and then beat him again as he used quick feet to evade the Frenchman's tackle.

To the surprise of everyone, the Wolves man hit an early low shot that left Lonergan stranded and headed straight into the corner of the net.

North End had never come from a goal down to win a game this season, so as the away fans celebrated, the home supporters knew their side faced an uphill challenge.

But it was a challenge that they rose to in great style.

Good interplay between Priskin and Brown saw the former Norwich man make a burst between two defenders in the box before having his legs taken away.

As the ref pointed to the spot, the immediate question after PNE's penalty predicaments this season was who would take it?

Callum Davidson was the man with the courage to pick up the ball, and he slammed a well-taken spotkick into the net to give PNE a deserved equaliser.

It made you wonder why Callum hasn't been chosen to take any of our previous botched penalties this season.

Unsurprisingly the goal gave everyone a lift and the winning goal came in spectacular fashion.

Simon Whaley had been quiet all night but he floated into a central role and gathered a chest-high ball on the edge of the box.

In one movement he swivelled and hit a volley that catapulted past the keeper and into the net to send Deepdale wild.

Despite a completely baffling four minutes of injury time, the ref finally blew to signal a third consecutive PNE win.

The players left the field to chants of "We are staying up!"