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Blackpool and Preston North End fought out an entertaining 1-1 Championship draw in the West Lancashire derby at Bloomfield Road.

The hosts took the lead after only 23 seconds when Billy Clarke (pictured right) curled a spectacular effort past Andy Lonergan, but Ross Wallace equalised with a similarly impressive free-kick seven minutes before the break.

There may be ramifications afterwards though as a steward suffered superficial injuries when Preston fans surged following an off-pitch celebration from Wallace, for which the Scotsman was booked.

Both sides had great chances to win the match. For the hosts, Irishman Clarke hit the woodwork twice, while team-mates Hameur Bouazza and Ian Evatt spurned two superb opportunities and striker Ben Burgess missed a sitter.

For North End, Neil Mellor should have scored but fired over while Richard Chaplow was denied by an excellent stop from Matthew Gilks.

One of the more fiery derbies in the division, the match was played in the right spirit and got off to a cracking start when former Ipswich forward Clarke, who was preferred as a starter to Brett Ormerod, cut inside from the right to unleash a beautiful effort from the edge of the box into the bottom left.

The frantic opening saw Blackpool by far the dominant force as Clarke, Burgess and Adam all had half-chances but could not find a way past Lonergan.

Clarke thought he had got his second league goal in a Tangerine shirt when he poked Marcel Seip's header past Lonergan, but it clipped the outside of the post to go behind for a goal kick.

Within seconds the visitors were level against the run of play, thanks to a moment of magic from Wallace. Stephen Crainey had fouled Chris Brown on the right-hand side of the Blackpool box and Wallace, returning to the starting line-up after injury, dipped an unstoppable shot with power and pace over the wall that Gilks was helpless to stop.

Despite the efforts of both sides to find a winner it somehow stayed level.

Three minutes later, Ipswich reject Clarke spun on the edge of the box to volley in the style of Mark Hughes, but his spectacular effort rattled the angle of post and bar and bounced the wrong side of the line to safety.

Seconds after that, centre-half Evatt popped up unmarked on the right wing and fired over from close range when he really should have scored.

The second half started in a similar fashion, although Preston did put the previously dominant hosts under some pressure as they missed chance after chance.

One minute in, striker Burgess put the impressive Charlie Adam through on North End's goal, but the Scot's finish flew over the bar, while two minutes later Adam headed a corner over when he arrived unmarked on the edge of the six-yard box.

Bouazza, returning to the Blackpool team after his World Cup qualifying exploits with Algeria, thought he had scored but the cheers of the crowd subsided when it transpired his rasping drive went just the wrong side of the post and was nestling in the side netting.

Ten minutes in, Preston had a rare opportunity but it was a very good one. Wallace played a defence-splitting lofted ball that allowed Chaplow to spring the offside trap, but Blackpool were saved by the quick thinking of keeper Gilks, who raced out and made himself big enough to block the finish with his chest.

Ian Holloway's Tangerines countered and should have re-taken the lead but Burgess, who had earlier fired weakly at Lonergan after a poor clearance from the Preston keeper, somehow poked the ball wide of the far post when a deflection played him onside and gave him the freedom of the six-yard box to finish Adam's cross.

Preston were spurred on by the escape but Mellor panicked and hammered his finish well over when substitute Paul Parry laid the perfect cut-back on for the former Liverpool trainee.

Team-mate Chris Sedgwick also missed a good chance, heading a few yards wide from close range, but the hosts had two clear-cut opportunities to snatch all three points at the death.

First Bouazza spooned his 92nd-minute finish over after Eddie Nolan let the ball drop on the edge of the box, while seconds before the five minutes of injury time were up Evatt put a free header straight at Lonergan.

A win would have put Blackpool fourth but the point means they creep into the play-off zone anyway, while Preston stay 13th but only lie one win behind.

Reda Maher / Eurosport