Preston North End man heading to play-off final at Wembley as contract decision looms

Preston North End midfielder Lewis Leigh is heading to Wembley with Crewe Alexandra - for the League Two play-off final.

Lee Bell’s side will either face MK Dons or Crawley Town on Sunday, 19 May. The latter lead 3-0 after victory in the first leg. Crewe will be waiting for whoever progresses, after becoming only the fourth team in play-off history - to overturn a 2-0 home defeat in the first leg. On Monday, Luke Molyneux and Harrison Biggins struck for Grant McCann’s side.

But, Crewe were level in the tie after 16 minutes of the second leg - Mickey Demetriou heading home and James Maxwell putting the ball into his own net. That sent the tie to penalties and Leigh, who missed the final three games of the regular season and the first leg through suspension, stepped up and calmly slotted home in the shoot-out - to make it 3-2.

With it 4-3, Hakeem Adelakun had to score for Doncaster and saw his effort from 12 yards kept out. Leigh will now get the chance to play at Wembley, having come on as a substitute after 85 minutes on Friday night. Prior to his sending off at Morecambe, in April, the midfielder had put a run of starts together for Bell’s men.

In total, the 20-year-old has made 15 appearances for the Railwaymen, having impressed in the first half of the season, with Bromley in the National League. The youngster’s future at Preston will soon be learned too, with him out of contract this summer. The club are yet to publish its retained list for 2024 - with a handful of senior players in their final month.