Emil Riis Jakobsen’s late equaliser denies Sheffield United from picking up a win at Deepdale

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Preston North End left it late once more against Sheffield United as an Emil Riis Jakobsen tap-in saw Ryan Lowe’s side come from 2-0 down to draw 2-2, despite going down to 10 men for the entire second half.

It comes after North End left it late at Bramall Lane earlier on in the season with Jakobsen yet again scoring a late equaliser which secured a 2-2 draw for the Lilywhites in South Yorkshire.

Despite a promising early few minutes from Preston, the Blades quickly got on top and scored the opening goal after a corner was not cleared properly. Jayden Bogle’s strike from outside the box swept through a number of bodies and past Daniel Iverson.

The hosts struggled to settle in possession, and five minutes before the break, Andrew Hughes was adjudged to have brought down Rhian Brewster in the penalty box. Referee David Webb had no choice but point to the penalty spot and send the Welshman for an early shower as he branded out the red card.

Billy Sharp scored the resulting penalty to put the Blades 2-0 in front at the break. At that moment, it was hard to see how Ryan Lowe’s men would come back from the deficit.

However, the former Plymouth Argyle manager had other ideas as a half-time substitution saw Joe Rafferty replace Brad Potts and Tom Barkhuizen switch over to his preferred right-hand side which provided the North End side with a lot more balance across the pitch.

The crucial change came soon after as Lowe switched to a four at the back formation and put Ched Evans upfront to support Jakobsen.

The former Sheffield United striker was straight into the action, flicking the ball in behind for creative midfielder Daniel Johnson who pulled the ball back for Alan Browne. The Preston skipper slotted it past Wes Foderingham and halved the deficit for the hosts with about 20 minutes to go.

Preston continued to push despite being a man down as the atmosphere in Deepdale grew. With just a minute of normal time to play, the Lilywhites finally got what they deserved.

Browne broke the line before playing the ball out wide to Evans who drove a teasing ball across the face of Foderingham’s goal for Jakobsen to bundle home and give North End the equaliser.

They could have even won it as Browne broke forward in the final moments but was prevented a fairy-tale ending by a crucial Conor Hourihane tackle.

The result seemed bigger amongst the Deepdale terraces than that of securing a draw and with it a single point.

The pride and fight shown was very well received by the North End faithful and it appears that Lowe has really galvanised the entire club and got a real feeling of togetherness back at the Lancashire club.

Sheffield United will be looking to bounce back from a very frustrating night at Deepdale when they face Luton Town on Saturday afternoon and look to get three points after going three games without a win in all competitions.

Ryan Lowe’s side will look to maintain their unbeaten run in the league with a trip to Wales as they face Swansea City.

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