David Clarkson could scarcely believe the drama unfolding before his eyes as this Coca-Cola Championship curtain-raiser culminated in a dramatic finale at Deepdale.

When he and fellow scorer Paul Hartley were withdrawn with 15 minutes remaining, Bristol City were in an apparently unassailable position, two goals to the good and cruising towards a notable victory.

At that stage, no-one in the stadium would have been prepared to countenance what followed. Powerless to intervene, Clarkson could only sit on the bench and watch in stunned silence as City's lead evaporated in the face of a feverish Lancastrian onslaught.

Jon Parkin gave Preston renewed hope by pulling a goal back with a sweetly-struck volley which crept inside keeper Dean Gerken's right-hand post eight minutes from the end and skipper Callum Davidson rescued a point for his side when netting from the penalty spot in the sixth minute of added time.

City had good reason to feel aggrieved, given the role played by referee Michael Oliver in the build-up to the equalising goal.

First, the hapless official inadvertently blocked Marvin Elliott's attempted clearance on the edge of the 18-yard box, causing the visitors to concede a corner. Then, he added insult to injury, adjudging Elliott to have handled the ball as City's packed defence fought to clear their lines. "It was hard to take," admitted Clarkson, whose first Championship goal proved one of many highlights in a superb second-half display.

"We were in a really good position when Paul and I can off. We were in complete control of the game and the three points were there for the taking.

"But then Preston gambled, pulled a goal back and came at us really hard in the last 10 minutes. It's difficult sitting on the bench and having to watch because you want to be involved and kick every ball.

"When the penalty decision went against us, the boys were gutted. We'd played some lovely football and worked so hard to get the result, it almost felt like a defeat when we had to settle for a point."

Although City's disappointment was palpable moments after the final whistle, when the dust has finally settled and, aided by the benefit of hindsight, manager Gary Johnson and his players will no doubt take encouragement from a performance of immense character and no little skill.

Somewhat subdued in the first half, City posed little or no threat in the attacking third and became increasingly dependent on desperate defence and good fortune. They certainly rode their luck when Louis Carey scrambled Parkin's close-range shot off the line and Youl Mawene somehow contrived to miss the target from eight yards out with the goal at his mercy.

Eager to impress on his debut, Gerken twice came to the rescue, making excellent saves to keep out further efforts from Paul Parry and Neil Mellor as the home side continued to press.

If Johnson's intention was to provoke a response by sending his players out ahead of schedule for the second half, it worked a treat and Nicky Maynard signalled a change in the balance of power by engineering room for a shot which took a deflection and flew inches wide of the post.

When Maynard next received the ball on 48 minutes, his intervention proved decisive. Carey won a crunching tackle near the halfway line and fed Elliott, whose pass set Danny Haynes free. The new signing from Ipswich delivered a perfectly- weighted pass into the path of Maynard, whose surging run into the penalty area forced Sean St Ledger and Mawene to bring him down.

Hartley dispatched the penalty in fine style, finding the left-hand corner and sending keeper Andy Lonergan the wrong way.

Suddenly it was all City and it came as no surprise when the Robins doubled their lead 10 minutes later. Haynes was again involved, setting up Clarkson for a right-footed shot which squirmed between Lonergan's legs and over the line.

Maynard squandered a glorious chance to add a third, Bradley Orr chose to pass when a shot might have yielded a more tangible dividend and Elliott headed over from a Jamie McAllister corner as the visitors ran riot.

Although they were visibly tiring, the departure of the hugely influential Hartley and the dangerous Clarkson signalled the end of City's dominance.

Had substitute Ivan Sproule found Gavin Williams moments after Parkin scored instead of delaying his pass, City may well have restored their two-goal advantage and returned with all three points. But the opportunity was allowed to go begging and Clarkson and his team-mates were left to rue what might have been.

Biting back his disappointment, the Scot acknowledged: "We can take a lot of plus points from the game. Preston are a very strong team, yet we played them off the park at times in the second half and should have won.

"Our formation and system worked well, the new boys settled in quickly and we looked like scoring nearly every time we attacked after the break. When we look back at it, we will probably look upon this as a good point."