North End have a pretty poor record before the Sky television cameras save for a few matches against Blackpool and Friday night was another poor showing.
Grayson selected Gallagher to play just off Beckford which was a starnge move given that Beckford has worked well when he has a target man beside him to lay off the ball.
Preston defensively were poor and weren't much better going in the opposite directions. They fell behind early on when Mooney curled a shot past Johnstone who was making his debut in the home goal. He had no chance with the shot and must have thought about returning to Doncaster at times.
The home side got back into the game thanks to a Gallagher free kick which was expertly curled into the box. Beckford for once managed to head the ball past the keepewr and into the net to equalise.
Preston went on the offensive but seemed to shoot from anywhere on the pitch. Shots reigned in from 20, 30 and 40 yards with most going high wide and handsome. The players got carried away probably due to the cameras but the shooting was abysmal.
Reid then earned Preston a penalty int he second half as he was tripped in the box. Gallagher converted and it seemed like Preston were going to escape with all three points until a late lapse.
Dagnall took advantage of poor defensive play down Preston's right and made his way into the box where he fired past Johnstone to level the scores up. Preston didn'[t really deserve much more.
After Saturday's results, Preston slip to eight points behind the front two. Last season with the cup games Preston fell behind in January and February before a late run saw them end up int he play offs in April.
It seems to be deja vu with Preston struggling through the last couple of matches despite a previous good run. North End are never going to tear teams apart and rely heavily on a solid defence. The worrying concern is that Preston can only turn around a losing position on very rare occasions.