Newcastle may have escaped the Championship with the league title but they were reminded just how tough England's second tier is as they left Deepdale with a draw in their latest friendly.
Rafa Benitez's side had the better of the chances and could have beaten Preston but in the end saw Aleksandar Mitrovic's early strike pegged back by Tom Barkhuizen, eventually settling for a draw.
The Premier League returnees handed debuts to new signings Jacob Murphy and Javier Manquillo off the bench at Preston but, as is ever ever the case in these pre-season affairs, the raft of second half substitutes hampered their momentum.