Preston boss Alan Irvine was happy with his side's effort after they were held to a 1-1 draw by UEFA Cup qualifiers Motherwell.In what was the Lancashire club's final game of their Scottish tour, the Lilywhites struggled to break down a stubborn home defence and went behind in the 76th minute when Well substitute Jamie Murphy guided the ball beyond goalkeeper Andy Lonergan.

Just one minute later North End equalised through the impressive Neil Mellor, who latched onto a loose ball to hit a cool 30-yard volley over Graeme Smith's head.

Irvine told the club's official website: "It was a really good game, just as I expected it to be. The effort was fantastic.

"I was saying all week this would probably be our toughest game of pre-season and told the boys we would have to be very disciplined. As a whole exercise I thought it was great."

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