Will Keane snatches dramatic late point for Preston against Norwich

Substitute Will Keane grabbed an equaliser six minutes into added time to earn Preston a 1-1 draw with Norwich at Deepdale.

The 32-year-old, who came off the bench late on for Lewis Dobbin, nodded North End level from close range after Jovon Makama thought he had won it for the visitors.

Makama latched on to Emiliano Marcondes’ delicate clipped pass before slamming the ball past Daniel Iversen in the 84th minute.

While the draw made it one defeat in six for Norwich manager Philippe Clement, the last-gasp equaliser will have stung as he bids to lead the Canaries out of relegation trouble.

Preston started the game in aggressive fashion and Thierry Small warmed the palms of Vladan Kovacevic from just inside the box in the opening stages, having robbed Kellen Fisher of the ball.

Dobbin fired narrowly wide from 30 yards as Norwich again lost possession trying to play out from the back.

However, the visitors started to grow into the match and Pelle Mattsson had a couple of goal-bound shots blocked, up against a deep-lying Preston back three.

Makama, who was a handful all game as he deputised for the injured Josh Sargent, nearly poked the visitors ahead in the 25th minute, but he was denied by the foot of the onrushing Iversen.

Both teams were struggling to carve out clear openings, but Kovacevic was the marginally busier of the two keepers, dropping low to collect another angled Small strike from the edge of the area with half-time approaching.

Matt Smith had Preston’s clearest opening just before the hour mark, latching on to Andrew Hughes’ flicked header, but he could only nod into the hands of Kovacevic from six yards.

Defender Hughes nearly provided a moment of magic in the 68th minute, letting fly from all of 40 yards, but his effort had just a little too much elevation.

Preston boss Paul Heckingbottom made a triple substitution shortly, with Mads Frokjaer, Ali McCann and Andrija Vukcevic thrown into the fray.

Tony Springett, a first-half substitute for the injured Forson Amankwah, forced Iversen into an awkward block with a fizzing cross in the latter stages, with both teams sensing a breakthrough.

It looked to be heading for a stalemate until the lively Makama took matters into his own hands, rolling Hughes before rifling past Iversen from the centre of the box.

But Preston threw players forward and Keane managed to head a dramatic equaliser into the corner from the edge of the six-yard box to send the home fans wild.