Norwich were frustrated by a determined rearguard action from Preston as a hard-fought Championship encounter at Carrow Road ended goalless.
The visitors, who were on a run of three successive defeats, showed plenty of spirit against a Norwich side who had won three of their previous four games and just about deserved their share of the spoils.
For all their possession Norwich only threatened sporadically, with their best chance arriving in the closing stages when substitute Liam Gibbs missed the target with a clear sight of goal.
Preston hit the crossbar through Ben Whiteman but it was their defensive work that caught the eye on a miserable afternoon.
Norwich dominated a low-key first half in which Preston failed to register a single effort, on or off target.
The visitors were on their game defensively, however, and a low skidder from Marcelino Nunez which fizzed just wide was the only moment of excitement in the opener quarter.
The Canaries went even closer after 27 minutes when Onel Hernandez broke free on the left before bringing a comfortable save out of Freddie Woodman, with Jack Whatmough on hand to clear up the loose ends.
There was another scare for Preston on the half-hour mark, with Christian Fassnacht popping up at the back post and getting in a shot on goal after his initial header had been blocked but Liam Lindsay got in a vital block to keep the scoreline blank.
It was a similarly one-sided story after the interval, with dominant Norwich still struggling to create clear-cut openings.
Preston almost made them pay on 55 minutes when Brad Potts’ glancing header from Alan Browne’s free-kick was only just wide.
Norwich substitute Jon Rowe threatened at the other end with a volley which was well blocked but it was Preston who nearly opened the scoring just past the hour mark, Whiteman’s first-time drive coming back off the crossbar after Angus Gunn had flapped at a high ball.
With the game approaching its final 10 minutes, Norwich wasted a glorious chance to edge ahead when Gabriel Sara picked out an unmarked Gibbs in the box, only for the substitute to guide the ball wastefully wide.
In a grandstand finish, Shane Duffy’s powerful header from a corner was blocked on the line by a defender and Whatmough almost forced the ball home at the other end but it ended goalless.
Southampton 3-1 West Brom (3-1 agg): Saints set up play-off final with Leeds United
Southampton saw off West Brom 3-1 at St Mary's on Friday to set up a Championship play-off final showdown with Leeds United.
Leeds thumped Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road 24 hours earlier to book their place at Wembley, where Southampton now await on May 26.
The first leg between the Saints and West Brom finished goalless - just like the other semi-final - but the home side's quality told in the end.
Russell Martin's side dominated the first-half possession, with David Brooks going closest to scoring with a shot that hit the outside of the post.
Southampton made the breakthrough via a powerful Will Smallbone finish four minutes into the second half after Gray Diangana lost possession.
Darnell Furlong had a shot helped over by Alex McCarthy, while David Brooks - who assisted the opener - had a strong penalty appeal rejected.
Southampton remained in control, though, and Adam Armstrong scored a second with a shot through Furlong's legs and past Alex Palmer.
Armstrong's second goal arrived from the penalty spot in the 86th minute after Tom Fellows fouled Ryan Manning in the box, rendering Cedric Kipre's late header a mere consolation.
Al-Nassr 1-1 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic scores last-gasp penalty
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a penalty in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time as Al-Hilal denied Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr victory in a 1-1 draw.
Mitrovic netted his 27th Saudi Pro League goal of the campaign after Sadio Mane was harshly judged to have fouled Saud Abdulhamid in the area.
Mane stuck out an arm to shield the ball, catching his opponent in the throat, though the contact appeared to have been outside of the box.
Mitrovic made no mistake to keep Al-Hilal's unbeaten campaign going.
The Serbian's spot-kick cancelled out Otavio's first-minute opener, with Ronaldo having set up his compatriot.
Champions Al-Hilal remain 12 points clear of Al-Nassr at the summit of the Pro League standings.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo the provider
Ronaldo leads the scoring charts in Saudi Arabia this season, though he had to settle for an assist on Friday.
That came from the only chance he created, with the 39-year-old limited to 25 touches, though he did have four shots.
Leeds' belief never wavered as Wembley beckons
Ethan Ampadu said Leeds United's players never let their belief waver despite a poor end to their Championship campaign, with a trip to Wembley now coming up.
Leeds will face either Southampton or West Brom in the play-off final on May 26 after thrashing Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road on Thursday.
The Whites endured a miserable end to their campaign, losing 4-0 at Queens Park Rangers before going down at home to Southampton on the final day, as Ipswich Town claimed automatic promotion behind Leicester City.
But after their emphatic defeat of the Canaries, who they drew with 0-0 in the first leg, Ampadu claimed Leeds never lost their way.
"Towards the end of the season there was a lot of talk about how we were playing, how we weren't on the front foot, how we weren't aggressive or clinical," he told Sky Sports.
"But we always had our belief that on our day, when we are firing, we can be hard for anyone to play against.
"When the front four, five, six play like that, they make the job of us defenders a lot easier.
"Whoever we play in the final it's going to be a hard game but to go in like this, to put in a performance like this, we can take momentum and confidence into it.
"The fans were second to none and we enjoyed their support – now we are going to prepare for the big one."
Georginio Rutter scored one and set up another in the rout, and he put the onus on Leeds to replicate the same level at Wembley.
"It's incredible. Today we go to Wembley," he said.
"We played a good game. I'm happy, everybody is happy. One more game and we will see.
"We played very good. 4-0 is a clean sheet. Today, we were mature. It's a very good performance from the team.
"I want to try my best and help the team. If we play like this [at the final], we have a good chance but we have to play like this."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
