Hero Riis is cookin’
PRESTON’S ‘Great Dane’ Emil Riis bagged a breathtaking 95th-minute equaliser to deny Bristol City.
Chris Martin had rifled the Robins ahead after just 12 minutes with a clinical strike as they looked to secure their first away league win since early October.
But Riis equalised for the home side seven minutes after the restart when he poked in from close-range.
Antoine Semenya looked to have secured victory when he smashed home with a smart finish with just nine minutes left. But Riis pounced with a stunning volley in the fifth and final minute of injury to snatch a dramatic draw and made sure new boss Ryan Lowe remains unbeaten at home since taking charge. “I was really pleased with the reaction of the players in the second-half,” said Lowe.
“We know the first-half wasn’t good enough, but hopefully it’s a one-off for us.”
Two-goal Riis said: “It was the perfect ending to
the game. “Obviously we would have liked to have got the three points, but we’ll take the point having been behind twice.”
The Lilywhites deserved their opener, Martin bagging his eighth league goal.
Riis levelled early after the break, before Cameron Archer fired at Max O’leary with a thunderous strike. The keeper could only parry and the Dane scored the rebound.
Semenyo looked to have won it, but Preston held their nerve and Riis was their hero with his last-gasp leveller.
Robins boss Nigel Pearson admitted: “We’ve conceded some late goals this season, so it was a really disappointing end to a good performance.
“We should really have seen the game out and been more ruthless.” PRESTON: Iversen 6; Van den Berg 6, Bauer 6, Hughes 6; Potts 6, Ledson 5 (Mccann 45, 6), Browne 6, Whiteman 7, Cunningham 5 (Earl 45, 5); Riis 9, Archer 7 (Evans 79). Subs not used: Lindsay, Rafferty, Ripley, Sinclair. BRISTOL CITY: O’leary 5; Kalas 6, Klose 6, Pring 6; Dasilva 6 (Cundy 82), Massengo 6, Scott 6 (Vyner 84), O’dowda 6 (Williams 64, 5); Weimann 7, Semenyo 8, Martin 7. Subs not used: Bentley, Wells, Conway, Benarous. MAN OF THE MATCH: Emil Riis. The Danish hitman bagged a brace and salavaged his side a dramatic point. REFEREE: John Busby 8.