Image: Preston North End

Chris Brown’s second-half volley helped Preston North End to secure a 1-1 draw against Norwich City at Carrow Road.

The former Canaries striker was only on the pitch for a couple of minutes when he latched onto Keith Treacy’s chipped free-kick to fire Preston into the lead.

Norwich equalised two minutes later through captain Grant Holt but the Lilywhites held on despite losing a number of players through injury.

Leon Cort (hamstring), Barry Nicholson (calf) and David Gray had to leave the pitch and Sean St. Ledger was also limping with an ankle problem, as the Lilywhites ended the match with ten men.

Preson were dealt with a blow before kick-off as Nathan Ellington pulled up in training. Paul Hayes came in as his replacement.

Preston were pegged back in the early exchanges as they struggled to cope with the tricky Wesley Hoolahan.

Hoolahan’s best effort came in the 12th minute and left Iain Turner rooted to the spot but went narrowly wide.

Preston did have their chances, the best of which fell to Iain Hume – but he failed to control his shot and blazed over.

Treacy replaced Nicholson after the striker pulled up in the 36th minute with the rest of the first-half petering out as Preston failed to create any more clear-cut chances.

After a slow start to the second-half, Brown’s introduction in the 57th minute was perfect timing for the 26-year-old to bury the ball past John Ruddy in the Norwich goal for his first touch of the game.

The jubilation was short-lived as Norwich reacted straight away and drove forward through Andrew Surman who produced a superb reaction save from Turner, which fell to Holt’s feet for a simple tap-in.

Following the goal, Cort was forced off to give 18-year-old Bailey Wright his league debut.

Hume came close shortly after and hit the crossbar but Treacy could not reach the rebound before Norwich cleared their lines.

The Lilywhites thought their luck was all but out when referee Mr. Craig Pawson pointed to the penalty spot following a suspected handball by Darren Carter.

But Turner stepped up to the mark to hold his nerve and save Hoolahan’s chipped effort.

As the game approached stoppage-time, Gray’s injury left Preston with only ten men after a 50-50 challenge with Marc Tierney.

The Lilywhites managed to keep the home side at bay though in a spirited performance to hold on for a courageous point.