Preston North End finally recorded their first home win of the season thanks to Emil Riis with a 1-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion who have now dropped into the relegation zone.
Fans have been desperate for the team to score more goals, as the defence has been watertight all season long. With such a resolute backline it can only take one goal to get the three points, and that was the case on Wednesday when Emil Riis got his second of the season.
A change of sides, and change of fortune
North End traditionally kick towards the Bill Shankly Kop in the first half, and then towards the Town End in the second half. Wednesday saw a change and a switch around. It was probably down to West Brom captain Dara O’Shea winning the toss, but with Preston having tried numerous things all season to find elusive goals perhaps facing the Town End first could have provided a difference.
It saw Sean Maguire very nearly score a header in the first five minutes after a tantalising cross from Robbie Brady. Just a few minutes later from the other side Alvaro Fernandez whipped in a ball from deep, and Emil Riis made no mistake in smashing the ball past Alex Palmer. It was the first Preston goal in front of the Town End this season.
For me Alvaro Fernandez was man of the match, and should keep his place in the team. He kept Jed Wallace quiet and caused problems at the other end of the pitch too. His ball into Riis for the goal was inch perfect. Whether Brady works in that number 10 position remains to be seen.
We then came close to another as Ali McCann saw an effort come back off the post. The second half saw the majority of the action come in the same half as Preston held on for the vital victory.
Freddie Woodman really showing his worth now
The story of our season so far has been no goals at either end. The defence have played their part and in a lot of games Woodman hasn’t had much to do in truth. West Brom enjoyed 65% of the possession, and have players who are more than capable of causing damage at this level. Woodman came for his crosses and made his saves when necessary. One in particular with his leg from point blank range from Karlan Grant was fantastic. He looked calm throughout and dealt with everything thrown at him.
The fans were singing his name after that and he was delighted come the final whistle. He turned to the fans and beat his chest pointing to his badge. He has enjoyed his time at the club and he will have been over the moon to get his first win at Deepdale. His defence in front of him were solid again, despite a bit of sloppy passing at times. Back to back clean sheets have come without Andrew Hughes, and that was Woodman’s ninth of the season already.
Sean Maguire played his part with his first start of the season
Ryan Lowe doesn’t have too many options when it comes to his strikers. Goalscorer Emil Riis should always be on the team sheet, and is the only striker to have scored so far this season in the league. Troy Parrott has played the majority of games but has yet to really prove his worth. Ched Evans never looks like scoring and hasn’t impacted a game yet this season. So Wednesday saw the turn of Maguire.
He has yet to score a goal under Lowe, but nearly found his first early on in the game. He is always a keen runner, can hold the ball up well, and quite often draw a foul from the opposition. He did all of the above, and was a good partner for Emil Riis to have. Parrott is then a good option to bring off the bench. A goal would have capped Maguire’s performance but he has done enough to keep his place in the team for the game at Norwich on Saturday.
A toothless performance from Alan Browne
There are no right-sided players in the Preston North End squad, and it was shocking that we failed to bring in a player to play in that wing-back role in the summer. Brad Potts has filled in admirably during Lowe’s tenure, but Browne has played the last two games there. It has come about in order to fit Alvaro Fernandez and Robbie Brady in the same side. Two left-sided players have fit in, but it has led to a weakness on the right.
Browne faced Grady Diangana for West Brom, and it was a complete mismatch, The club captain couldn’t get anywhere near the former West Ham United player, and The Baggies chose to attack down that side pretty much every time. Browne had his tooth knocked out against Sunderland at the weekend, and he would have enjoyed the trip to the dentist more than seeing Diangana running at him time and time again.
Potts was rightly brought on midway through the second half, and although it was a poor performance from Browne, he is playing out of position to be fair to him. Sometimes it works there, but when faced against high quality opposition, it is a lot to ask.
We’re somehow two points off the play-offs
The first 12 games of the season have been disappointing overall. We obviously all feel good after a win like that, but we have fallen short in most of the games this season. Four goals in 12 games is very poor. But nine clean sheets is incredible. Only one game this season has been decided by a bigger margin than one goal, and that was the 2-0 defeat to Sheffield United.
We’ve played much better than we did against West Brom and not come away with three points. But we have only lost two games this season. Only Burnley have lost less. Our defence have kept us within reach of the top teams, but it remains that close in the league, that a defeat on Monday could have seen us in 20th place.
Yet we are 11th and West Brom actually find themselves in the relegation zone. They have a top six squad, and controlled possession against us on Wednesday. It’s a funny league at the moment, but Steve Bruce will probably pay the price for that false position. There isn’t a great deal between Championship teams this season, which make a lot of our draws hard to take. Hopefully we can start scoring on a more regular basis, and we will pick up three points more often between now and the World Cup break.