Rotherham 1-1 Preston: Ryan Lowe's North End knocked off Championship top spot after draw

Preston's winning streak came to a halt with a 1-1 draw at Rotherham.

The visitors had won their last six games to storm to the top of the Championship, but they were held by the Millers, with former North End man Jordan Hugill netting for the home side.

Liam Lindsay ensured Preston left with a point with an equaliser on the stroke of half-time.

The first clear-cut chance of the game fell to Preston's Duane Holmes, who latched on to a clever corner from Alan Browne but saw his goal-bound effort blocked.

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After an even opening Preston began to pin Rotherham in their own half and Holmes created a great chance for Milutin Osmajic, but the big striker's header was clawed out by a strong save from Viktor Johansson.

Rotherham took the lead against the run of play after 35 minutes thanks to Hugill's sensational solo strike.

He held off a challenge strongly and then drove into space before curling an effort into the top corner from 25 yards.

Lindsay almost replied straight away, but Tyler Blackett was wise to his flicked header and managed to stop it from crossing the line.

Browne came close with a guided header from Robbie Brady's corner but it drifted just wide of a post.

Preston's set-pieces were causing real problems for the Millers and they were made to pay after 45 minutes, with Brady's whipped delivery powered home by Lindsay.

Rotherham were forced into a change for the second half, Cameron Humphreys having picked up an injury, and, with no recognised central defenders on the bench, Cohen Bramall had to fill in.

Holmes led the first serious attack of the second period but fired over from distance.

Preston were not creating the chances boss Ryan Lowe would have wanted so he made a triple change for the final 20 minutes.

They threatened through Ryan Ledson, who took aim from the edge of the box but saw low effort palmed out by Johansson, with the rebound from Osmajic blocked.

One of the Preston changes, Liam Millar, was proving lively and his neat footwork opened up a shooting chance, but he fired well over the top.

Preston were inches away from grabbing a late winner when Brad Potts' cross from the right was turned against his own post by a despairing dive from Blackett.

Rotherham resolutely saw out four minutes of added on time, which included a penalty shout following a challenge on Millar, to secure a share of the spoils.

The managers

Rotherham's Matt Taylor:

"It was a good game of football. Things seemed to go against us at certain moments. They're a good team and you can see that. We had to rejig things at half-time and tried to go toe-to-toe with a very good team. I did not envisage having that defence in the second half, but it was a case of needs must. Tyler was what I want him to be, a man mountain.

"The most sensible thing was to go to a back five, but it had legs about it. It's certainly a formation I have used in the past. We have got to keep finding ways to adapt during games. It was more of a structured game. It was not pretty for the first 20 minutes, but it was solid. It was not spectacular in any way, but it calmed a few bodies down. Then the game disconnects and space appears."

Preston's Ryan Lowe:

"It's a fantastic point for us. We know coming here was always going to be tough. We would have loved three points, of course, but we say if you can't win it, don't lose it. We thought we opened them up quite a bit to get the winner, but it wasn't to be. We were disappointed to concede, but it's a great goal from Jordan. Credit where it's due.

"I thought they had some flashes and good moments, but we were the team looking to win it. I thought we had the opportunities. We just did not have that moment of brilliance. We probably could not have done any more other than put it in the back of the net."

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