Ahead of kick-off at Deepdale, Notts County were ranked as outsiders at odds of 5/1 but it was Preston North End that were lucky to take something from the opening day game.
Notts took a second-half lead through a stunning Jake Cassidy hit, only to be denied maximum points by an 89th minute Joe Garner strike.
Manager Shaun Derry was encouraged by his team’s performance, especially considering that seven of the starting 11 pulled on the Black and White stripes for the first time in a competitive fixture.
He said: “I think if you were to ask us if we’d have taken a point before the game we’d have probably said yes, but as the game transpired and went into the latter stages I felt there was only one winner.
“I felt as the game went on, we took control and I was pleased with how we played.
“People will say that perhaps we were rode our luck but when you come to places like this let’s not overlook the task that we had.
“This is a huge football club with a much, much bigger budget than we have at Notts County and they’ve had a manager at the helm now that’s managed to get a grip of what he wants from his side.
“We knew it was going to be a tough day but I felt that the new group of lads played well together.
“I tell you what, we came here last year and we didn’t do ourselves justice - and a lot of teams do that when they come to Preston.
“I didn’t want that to happen, I wanted us to be really committed and give a good account of ourselves and I felt we did that.”
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