Preston North End 2 - 1 Rotherham United: Preston snatch points with last-gasp own goal
Posted Sunday, January 03, 2016 by PA
Preston scored with the last attack of the game as they came from behind to beat struggling Rotherham 2-1 in the Sky Bet Championship at Deepdale.
A second-half onslaught looked like yielding only a point for Simon Grayson's men as Eoin Doyle's first goal since November cancelled out Tony Andreu's first-half strike for the Millers.
But in the last minute of three added on, Rotherham striker Jonson Clarke-Harris headed into his own net to earn Preston the win.
It was the first time they had scored two goals on home soil this season and condemned the Millers to another defeat on the road - their seventh in eight games.
Preston have been notoriously difficult to break down on their own turf, but Rotherham's first sight of goal came after just nine minutes, when Danny Ward rounded Sam Johnstone, but Bailey Wright somehow got back to clear a fierce shot off the line.
North End had beaten Hull on Monday with an impressive display, but there was little evidence of that in their first-half showing.
And Rotherham took the lead in the 36th minute with a superb counter-attacking goal.
Andreu set Ward free down the left and then timed his run superbly to meet Ward's pinpoint cross and head into the bottom corner.
It was just the 10th goal Preston had conceded at home and only the fourth Rotherham had bagged on their travels since September.
The Millers were almost pegged back immediately, though, and they were only saved by a brilliant piece of defending by Paul Green.
A loose ball fell to Joe Garner, he created some space for himself but was denied a certain goal by Green's brave block.
Having been booed off by their supporters at half-time it was difficult for Preston to have been as bad after the restart and it did not take long for them to up the ante, creating three great chances to draw level.
First Joe Mattock's superb clearance, which was perilously close to being over the line, denied Garner, then Lee Camp acrobatically tipped over Paul Huntington's header.
Camp was again producing heroics to block Alan Browne's effort before the pressure eventually told in the 64th minute as Doyle finally ended his drought.
Rotherham failed to clear a free-kick and the former Cardiff striker had the easiest of tap-ins from inside the six-yard box.
One almost brought two soon after as the Millers were again reliant on Camp, though he did not know much about an instinctive stop with his feet from Doyle's header, with Mattock in the right place to block Garner's follow up.
Preston looked the only side likely to go on and win it as they were camped in their visitors' half.
Browne headed wide from a good position and Paul Gallagher's curling free-kick brought another save out of Camp.
Just as it looked like the Millers would survive, Clarke-Harris headed into his own net in the dying moments to give Preston all three points.
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