Appley Bridge score three in stoppage time to stun Preston in nine-goal thriller

Match Report

Appley Bridge

K3DSW

TALENTTT

Neamelander12 Sept 202682 views

Appley Bridge produced a remarkable late comeback to beat Preston Athletic 5-4, scoring three times in stoppage time after trailing 4-2 entering the final minutes.

A hat trick from K3DSW, including the equaliser and eventual winner deep into stoppage time, completed one of the most dramatic finishes of the opening gameweek. Preston Athletic looked to be heading for an opening round victory after building a two-goal lead and creating the better chances for much of the contest, only for Appley Bridge to completely overturn the match in a frantic finish.

Preston opened the scoring after 25 minutes through TALENTTT before XYEQE doubled their advantage ten minutes later. At that stage, the hosts had established control and looked capable of putting the game beyond Appley Bridge before half time.

Instead, the visitors found a route back into the contest through K3DSW, who struck in the 38th minute to reduce the deficit and ensure the game remained finely poised at the break.

Appley Bridge carried that momentum into the second half and levelled five minutes after the restart through KURALXUC. Preston responded almost immediately, however, with XYEQE restoring their lead in the 54th minute before completing his hat trick on 70 minutes to make it 4-2.

That appeared to be the decisive moment. Preston had created the clearer chances throughout, eventually finishing with 5.9 expected goals compared with Appley Bridge's 3.3, while also recording 12 shots on target to the visitors' 10.

Yet the match changed completely once stoppage time began.

K3DSW pulled Appley Bridge back within one goal in the 93rd minute, before KURALXUC struck again two minutes later to make it 4-4. What had looked like a comfortable Preston victory had suddenly become a scramble to preserve even a point.

Appley Bridge had not finished there. In the 96th minute, K3DSW scored again to complete his hat trick and seal an extraordinary 5-4 turnaround, with all three of Appley Bridge's decisive late goals arriving after the 90th minute.

The result was particularly harsh on Preston given the volume and quality of chances they created. Both teams finished with 17 shots, but Preston produced the higher xG total and forced Appley Bridge into 14 saves. Their inability to manage the final minutes, however, ultimately outweighed everything they had done before them.

For Appley Bridge, the victory offers an immediate statement of resilience after what had been a turbulent pre-season. They twice recovered from two-goal deficits and kept pushing even when the game appeared to have escaped them, with K3DSW's hat trick providing the defining contribution.

Preston, meanwhile, are left to reflect on how a match in which they scored four times and generated 5.9 xG still ended in defeat. Their attacking performance provided plenty of encouragement, but conceding three goals in four stoppage time minutes turned what looked certain to be three points into a damaging opening round loss.