DAVID Eyres was the saviour of the night for North End as he grabbed an equaliser to spare his team mates' blushes.

The wonder winger equalised on 78 minutes when he was in the right place at the right time to leave the score at 1-1.

But the damage had already been done to PNE's defence in the first half with a goal by Partick striker Steve Dallas that Tepi Molianen had no chance of stopping. A shot from Neil Docherty went inches wide five minutes later, much to the relief of the flustered Finn.

North End, as usual, stepped up a gear in the second half and Mark Wright looked certain to score as he broke clean through only to be stopped by the heroics of Kenny Arthur. The ball rebounded, providing Kurt Nogan with a golden chances, which he squandered. PNE made the changes, keeping Arthur under pressure, with Eyres finally breaking through 12 minutes from time.

PNE: Moilanen, Darby, Eaton, Murdock, Morgan (Gregan 50), Diaf, McKenna (Rankine 68), Appleton, Nogan (Beesley 79), Wright (Macken 79), Eyres (Murphy 85)

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