SHAUN DERRY, the Leeds United midfield player, has a nasty habit-cum-superstition of being violently sick ten minutes before kick-off and the malaise was catching last night. Elland Road was groaning with a collective upset stomach until Eddie Lewis’s late free kick left the outcome of this Coca-Cola Championship play-off semi-final, first leg delicately poised.

The odds now favour Preston North End, whose good form contrasts with Leeds’s stuttering shuffle towards the finishing line, but Kevin Blackwell, the Leeds manager, was upbeat. “I’m not disappointed,” he said. “Many players could have wilted under the massive expectation of our fans. Last time it took eight years to get back up because people could not handle playing in front of big crowds, but they’ve got big balls.”

That is just as well. Preston were happy to soak up pressure and hit Leeds on the counter- attack, David Nugent’s excellent solo goal just after the break another feather in Billy Davies’s tactical cap. “It’s a tremendous result for us,” he said. “We can ask for no more, we’ve come here, done the job and it now swings towards us.”

With high stakes, it was inevitable that there would be a dash of controversy. Blackwell called for Premiership referees to take control of play-off games, while plastic bottles appeared to be thrown at Davies. Was he hit? “Not that I know of, but that’s an everyday event in Glasgow,” he said.

Blackwell’s primary gripe was Phil Crossley’s failure to award a penalty when Youl Mawene clattered into Matthew Kilgallon. He accepted that he might be getting a fine before saying: “I thought the referee was weak all night. This game was too big for him.”

The kick-off had been delayed because Leeds fans had forgotten what it is like to have big crowds and arrived late, but there was a raucous atmosphere by the time Blackwell’s side attempted to sweep the past four years under the carpet and Preston tried to amend a shocking play-off history.

The visiting team could have doused the nostalgic fervour on the terraces after just seven minutes. Graham Alexander’s simple free kick avoided the attention of any Leeds defender but Nugent blazed his shot over from 12 yards. After Kilgallon nodded against a post, Nugent made amends in mesmerising fashion.

Back from a broken metatarsal only last week, he picked up the ball on the right and embarked on a run that saw the Leeds rearguard choose to recede ever deeper and get the prayer mat out rather than tackle him. When he found himself approaching the six-yard box with the ball at his feet, he prodded home a grateful finish.

That rattled the collective Yorkshire cage. Derry, Leeds’s best player, now resembled a particularly gnarled pirate in search of a bit of pillaging as he scorched upfield and growled at opponents. Both sides had chances and Preston debated the free kick on the edge of the area that enabled Lewis to curl the equaliser. It remains to be seen who has the stomach to see the task through.

LEEDS UNITED (4-1-2-3): N Sullivan — G Kelly, M Kilgallon, S Gregan, S Crainey — S Derry (sub: R Cresswell, 79min) — E Bakke (sub: S Stone, 56), L Miller — D Healey (sub: R Blake, 72), R Hulse, E Lewis. Substitutes not used: I Bennett, J Douglas. Booked: Bakke, Miller, Cresswell.

PRESTON NORTH END (4-2-3-1): C Nash — G Alexander, Y Mawene, C Davis, T Myers — B O’Neil (sub: S Whaley, 64), J Jarrett — D Nugent (sub: P Agyemang, 64), P McKenna, B Ormerod (sub: C Sedgwick, 88) — D Dichio. Substitutes not used: G Ward, K Wilson. Booked: Davis.

Referee: P Crossley.

PLAY-OFFS

Today
Crystal Palace v Watford (12.15)

Monday
Preston North End v Leeds United (7.45)

Tuesday
Watford v Crystal Palace (7.45)

FINAL
May 21: at Millennium Stadium, 3.0