Preston North End 1, Stockport County 1

AMERICAN new boy Brian McBride was a bit of an unknown quantity to the Deepdale faithful when he stepped onto the pitch for the first time on Saturday.

But the home fans soon learned why boss David Moyes persisted in his chase for the striker as he showed every sign that he could be a new hero at North End.

Manager Moyes has been chasing the Columbus Crew star for months and fought off interest from Rangers to seal the American international on a six month deal now his domestic season has finished.

And he had no hesitation in starting the likeable 28-year-old despite the fact he'd only stepped off a plane 48 hours later and admitted he was 'a bit short of juice at the end.'

With Jon Macken a late withdrawal with a hamstring injury, McBride came close to repaying Moyes' faith by scoring a dream debut goal in the 14th minute.

He twisted and turned in the area only to see his shot hit the underside of the crossbar and bounce back out to Paul McKenna who was pleased to fire home his first goal of the season.

"I turned and knew I needed to get it on frame. It went a little high but McKenna was there to kick it in," he said.

"Everyone has been great since I arrived here. The club and the players have given me a warm reception and I have enjoyed the few days so far. I will have to learn at times to do things differently. I could have made a different run, turned a different way and I lost a couple of balls I thought I should have kept but these are things I will work on.

" I was also running out of steam at the end. The English game is as physical as I expected but it is fair. Sometimes American games are physical and not fair!" Moyes is not one to go too over the top about individual players but he was more than pleased with McBride's contribution.

"I thought Brian played well, He's only been here a few days and doesn't even know the players names properly yet or how we play the game," said the manager.

But despite McBride's contribution, the draw - although it maintained Preston's unbeaten home record - was a disappointment for Moyes.

"I think it's the poorest we've played this season. We gave them an early goal and then were always playing catch up. I thought Stockport played very well."

And there was more disappointment with the loss of goalkeeper David Lucas in an 88th minute clash with County's second minute scorer Ian Moore.

Lucas left the pitch with a chest and shoulder wound and assistant manager Kelham O' Hanlon had to deputise for the final minutes. With Tepi Moilanen still out with a back injury, Moyes has a serious headache for Tuesday's Worthington Cup game with Coventry at Deepdale.

But if Moyes has a headache it's nothing compared to Stockport boss Andy Kilner.

He announced that he'd just learnt after the match that the Chairman had sold his best player Tony Dinning to Wolves for £700,000.

"It's a major blow," said a bemused Kilner. "Tony Dinning is top class and I'm delighted for him on a personal level but not from my point of view. I've lost my best player.

"Everyone knows about the financial situation at this club. The chairman has put money in over the last few years. He has supported the club single handedly and it is his money. We do need to balance the books but it is a massive loss."