The game was over within the first twenty minutes. Pretson appeared to be on their holidyas already with Trotman looking like the only player anywhere near half throttle.
Preston conceded a free kick early on and despite the referee an dgrey haired assistant favouring the home side in all key decisions we have come to accept this as per the norm in the Championship. The free kick came in and the Coty frontman looked a good yard offside. This did not distract from the fact that Lonergan, not for the first time, came and fumbled the ball leaving the home side to tap in.
Mckenna and Chaplow had a poor afternoon in the middle as the ball was lost allowing City to pour into acres of pace and use their extra men to secure a simple second goal.
Both sides then played some good passing football but Preston with no penetration and City already thinking of the weeks to come. Sedgewick chasing back in the second half made a rash tackle and City scored direct from the resulting free kick.
A triple substitution in the second half did little to sway the game. If it wasn't the end of season fanfair the 1,500 or so fans who travelled down from Preston might have been a bit more vicious in their words.
Changes will be made no doubt over the summer. More creativity is needed and some see upto five leaving the club from the current squad. Irvine has to make improvements if we are going to be in a position similar to that of Bristol City come the end of next season. As for City, we may just see them again next year if the lottery of the play offs doesn't quite work out for them.