• Boro line up in a 4-4-2: Steele; Hoyte, Wheater, Bates, Bennett: O’Neil, Thomson, Tavares, Arca; Emnes, Lita

• No Barry Robson anywhere. His meteoric rise into Boro folklore appears to have crashed and dented. Does it portend an extension of the Tavares loan, or another fresh body in the next few weeks?

• Birthday boy Sean St. Ledger also absent, not even named to the Preston bench. Another celebrating Capricorn, our own Leroy Lita, turned 26 today. He’s in up front with Marvin Emnes to form a pacy, dynamic pair

• Ref: Craig Pawson – last Boro match the 3-1 drubbing at Derby – Steele/Wheater/McManus/O’Neil all went in the book that day

• PNE haven’t beat Boro in the league since 1972 – usually an ominous omen

• Andy Lonergan, the Preston-born home keeper, is certainly one susceptible to the occasional egregious blunder between the sticks. Can Boro be active enough in his box to cause some bother?

• Great work from Leroy Lita early on – he’s not getting enough support from his midfielders, who frankly are too busy trying to protect against Preston counter attacks. Few options available when he gets deep, forcing some of the nice passages of football currently on offer to disintegrate

• Transfer Rumour Target du jour: Soren Larsen – hulking Danish striker at Toulouse…experience at the top level with Bundesliga side Schalke 04…something of a Nicklas Bendtner understudy, which is great socially, but less so from a football perspective

• Lethal: Up. For. It. The misery set in after Preston scored from a corner was short-lived as Boro broke forward and Leroy, who still stupefies his gaffer, unleashed a fierce drive into the roof of the net. More remarkably is that he kept his top on; becoming a man before our very eyes – Preston 1-1 Boro

• Barca/Boro – imperceptible at the moment: Bennett/Hoyte resembling proper wing backs as Thommo and Tavares play the Busquets role – it’s a dangerous tactic that’s been profitable thus far, contravening the notion that full backs need to be full backs…Preston breaking on the counter when they can get behind the Boro back line

HT PNE 1-1 Boro

Before Gilly’s cup of tea: great organisation so far – Thommo and Tavares covering the vacancies when the full backs bomb forward – we still need the numbers to rush forward when we create advantages…MF flood the box and remove onus from LL and Emnes…onto the second half

• Things open up as it approaches the hour mark – Marvin Emnes becomes too ponderous, waiting an age to do something in a great attacking position. It’s a real chance wasted. Fortunately the Boro birthday boy Leroy Lita, ‘someone you don’t normally associate composure with’ – controls a diamond ball from Julio Arca and slots a professional finish into the PNE goal – Preston 1-2 Boro

• Make it four great aerial chances for David Wheater this half – and one stormer of a goal. It’s padding the goal difference now, a critical element of relegation survival that, if it came to it, wouldn’t be a concern. Some might be happy closing up shop for 30 minutes to ensure a result; others want a cricket score a remuneration for active roles in the season of suffering

• Will Lee Miller, starting this day for Notts County at Home Park versus Plymouth Argyle, be coming back to cover for Asian Cup participant Scott McDonald? The Larsen link makes sense if the Scottish donkey gets either a loan extension or reassignment. Exploits of Tarmo Kink aside, there’s a sense that Mogga would be more assertive and exacting in the scouting of continental prospects

• The Beast Jon Parkin has been rendered pretty anonymous today. Matthew Bates and David Wheater have neutralised this animal with relative ease. Limiting his gazelle-like strike mate Josh King, on loan from Big Ferg, required more pace than guile

• Attendance: 11946 (approx 1000 Boro)

• GG MOM – Lethal

Immediate reaction from Gilly: Arca terrific, centre halves brilliant – this has been coming for a while – a really expansive and controlled performance – only the second 3 goal outburst this season – Boro 3-1 Reading

Mac continues his chuntering down the tunnel, reports Mark Drury – why didn’t Hoyte pass the ball during that late rush for four?

Manager interview with Mogga: time to go on a run – not overly concerned at other results currently…23 games to go for us to sort our business, build belief, and improve confidence – try to bring in manageable players the have the right price – a year of change…results on the pitch and a shake-up in personnel

Tunnel reaction from Julio Arca: we were patient, chose the right attacks, and continued to play better football – more tactical, sharper – completing the changes the manager wants to make will take time, but it will be worth it

As we reveled in our tech totality – AV from the press box, Ali/Gary in the booth, and a dubious feed scrambled across the Middle East and then into our laptop – here were the observations that made it in the notebook:

• Johnno’s goal – really magic; Leroy Lita chased down the long goal kick and held up play for the onrushing AJ…clinical finish
• Gary O’Neil was very offensive-minded, advancing more forward than usual and getting efforts in on goal – the free kick for the first goal probably should’ve been dealt with, but good for the midfielder’s confidence no doubt
• Rhys Williams thundered that shot off the woodwork – the potential 3-1 lead would have been unassailable
• The foul on Joe Bennett leading to the free kick that produced the leveler was ridiculous – the young left back is clearly being unfairly targeted for his refreshingly physical approach – and the late off side ruling against Johnno as Boro pressed deep in stoppage time was bullshit too…
• If Gordo has time, maybe convert Emnes to a RM role…could work…isn’t that what we bought him as?

Get well soon Moz…

Nickname(s): The Lilywhites, Northenders, PNE

Ground: Deepdale

From Boro: a circuitous 138 miles – the drive plunges south of Leeds/Bradford, through Rochdale, Bury and Bolton

Kit: circa 2006-2009 Bolton-esque…plus, didn’t Canterbury go under?

The Original Invincibles: Arsenal did it more recently, but PNE was the first to go a whole season undefeated…in 1888-89, which incidentally is when they recorded the first double in history, blazing the FA Cup as well…a club truly ahead of their time!

Deepdale Idiosyncrasies: former manager Paul Simpson was pilloried for banning this at the ground in August 2007…the fans singing it, not The King, cos he’s dead…Simpson tried to allay it w/ this: ‘I don’t know whose idea this song is at the start, because it seems to put everyone in a bit of a depression. We have to make sure we get something which the players respond to and go out and perform and the fans respond to as well. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying we are losing games because of that song. But we have to do whatever we can to generate an atmosphere’…he was sacked 3 months later