Preston progressing pleasantly after poor start to Championship campaign

Sky Bet Championship

Preston 1 Middlesbrough 1
Browne 43 Tavernier 46

The story of the match
A draw was just about the right result, although if either side deserved to win it was Preston, who will be more aggrieved to only share the spoils after dominating much of the first half.

Strangely, Alan Browne's opener for Preston just before the interval came after Boro's only spell of pressure in the opening 45 minutes and it was a nicely taken goal too. Browne took Brandon Barker's pass and with quick feet manoeuvred himself some room on the edge of the box to snap a shot into the bottom corner.

It was no more than Preston's play had warranted.

Barker, presumably as bemused as anyone to find himself in acres of space in the opening moments, dallied on the ball to allow Lewis Wing to make a superb block, while Browne slipped in Louis Moult, whose shot was saved by Darren Randolph.

Between those chances North End came even closer when a well-worked short corner involving Barker and Browne freed Tom Barkhuizen but a combination of Randolph and the post led to the ball being hooked off the line.

Boro's Daniel Ayala also saw an effort cleared off the line but the visitors were poor in the first half and it was no surprise to see Tony Pulis change tactics at half-time, switching from 5-3-2 to 4-3-3.

Marcus Tavernier, on the for injured Rudy Gestede, equalised immediately after half-time, taking advantage of Paul Huntington misjudging a bouncing ball, and it seemed to knock the stuffing out of PNE.

Jordan Storey blazed over late on but neither keeper was overly worked in the later stages when Boro were much more competitive.

Tactics
Alex Neil's side use a 4-2-3-1 system and like to play their football through central midfielders Paul Gallagher and Ben Pearson.

It was interesting to watch Gallagher's influence wane after the break when Pulis pushed George Saville much closer to the deep-sitting playmaker and the Boro man was booked for one rough tackle.

Strengths
Preston move the ball well through Gallagher and Pearson. Most of their best work came down the left with Browne combining excellently at times with Barker.

Browne, who assisted two and scored one against Blackburn on Saturday, is clearly in good nick and is a dangerous customer in the number ten position, particularly as Gallagher and Pearson can both pass through defensive lines to find him in space.

• Sky Bet Championship standings

There's also a real confidence around Deepdale with Preston having gone nine matches unbeaten in the Sky Bet Championship. They have collected 17 points in the process which is a long way from their early-season form of five points from their opening ten fixtures.

Weaknesses
Injuries are beginning to bite and Neil's bench is looking particularly weak, which may explain the average finish to the match as well as why he used just one substitute.

Top scorer Callum Robinson's injury against Blackburn means he will be out for a minimum of three months, joining Josh Harrop, Daniel Johnson, Billy Bodin, Ben Davies and Sean Maguire on the treatment table.

Moult looked a fair understudy to Robinson but he was replaced after 73 minutes by Lukas Nmecha, who is yet to score since signing on loan from Manchester City.

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Goalscorer notebook
Barker, another City loanee without a goal in the Championship for PNE, may not have to wait much longer. The nifty left winger is a talented 22-year-old who is not lacking in confidence.

View from the camp
Neil said: "We had five players who normally start missing and if you do that to any team they'd do remarkably well to cope as well as we have against a side who were second in the league. We are playing well at the moment and want to keep it going."

Prospects
Preston are better than their league position suggests and they should finish the season in the top half. They are a team to keep on your side once the majority of their players return from injury.

Opposition
Pulis was happy enough with a point and they are the one consistent dogged outfit fighting for promotion against a bunch of more erratic teams.

Leeds, West Brom and Derby are capable of better football but the Teessiders have conceded just ten goals which will stand them in good stead for the promotion push.

Tavernier's enforced introduction helped immensely with Boro lacking mobility when Gestede was alongside former Preston striker Jordan Hugill and they were much improved in the final hour.

Organised at the back, competitive in midfield and a threat from set-pieces - Pulis would not have it any other way.

Teams
Preston 4-2-3-1: Rudd; Clarke, Storey, Huntington, Earl; Pearson, Gallagher; Barkhuizen, Browne, Barker; Moult (Nmecha 73).

Middlesbrough 5-3-2: Randolph; Fry, Batth, Ayala (Braithwaite h-t), Flint, Friend; Wing (Howson 48), Clayton, Saville; Gestede (Tavernier 27), Hugill.

Next three fixtures
Preston Birmingham (a), Nottm Forest (a), Millwall (h).
Middlesbrough Aston Villa (h), Blackburn (h), QPR (a).

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