Preston North End were on the end of a 4-0 thumping from West Bromwich Albion as their unbeaten start to the season came to an end.
It was a horrid watch with The Lilywhites behind inside four minutes and never looked like getting back into the match.
Can’t keep going behind
Despite Preston winning six and drawing two of their first eight games, West Brom’s early goal on Saturday was the fifth time North End had conceded the first goal this season.
In away games against Bristol City and Rotherham United, we were able to come back and draw 1-1, whilst we managed to beat both Swansea City and Birmingham City 2-1 after falling behind.
But it was only a matter of time before the opposition made the most of taking the lead, and once The Baggies scored their second it was game over. The first goal was a good finish from Darnell Furlong but he was afforded far too much space and time on the edge of the area.
Storey sloppiness summed up game
I don’t think any player could come out of that game with their head held high. There were too many individual mistakes, misplaced passes and it was too easy for West Brom.
The second goal effectively ended the game and it was poor decision making from Jordan Storey who has had an excellent start to the season. He tried to play a deft pass in his own area and it ended up being a daft pass that gifted The Baggies a goal. All he had to do was clear the ball. Alan Browne rightly gave him a talking to, but Storey knew that was a very costly error.
It was a performance Brad Potts will want to forget as well. He has been Mr Consistent over the past 12 months, but it wasn’t clicking for him on Saturday. Lots of errors, and not the same relentless running down the wing that we are used to seeing.
Brady wasn’t the answer
Changes were needed at half time, and you are looking towards Ben Whiteman, Mads Frokjaer and Will Keane as options who can help us get further up the pitch. There were too many gaps in the middle of the park, and we couldn’t get a hold of the ball.
Bringing the ever so often frustrating Robbie Brady on for Ali McCann seemed like a strange move. Liam Millar was pushed up front alongside Milutin Osmajic, and there was now even more gaps in the middle. It didn’t pay off.
Brady can deliver a fine ball into the box, but he really doesn’t have much else to his game now. He has no pace, gives away too many fouls, can be a liability in defensive positions and is too casual in his play. Personally I’d rather see Kian Best in the team over Brady. A player with just as good of a left foot, but someone growing in the game rather than a player who seems much closer to the end of his career than a 31-year-old should be.
Need to bounce back
The promising start to the season hadn’t seen Preston blow teams away, and we were allowing plenty of chances for the opposition but we were defending well. On Saturday The Baggies took their chances, and our defence was way below par.
I felt there was always a chance this result could be round the corner, and it’s frustrating to see. The game was very much reminiscent of quite a few home games last season, but we must hope this was a one off and the team can bounce back in the next few games.
The next two fixtures couldn’t be any harder on paper however. We face the top two teams away from home. Leicester City look set to comfortably win this division, whilst Ipswich Town are still riding the crest of a wave on the back of a very impressive League One promotion winning campaign.
Tough fixtures for Ryan Lowe’s side, and if West Brom can score four against us, The Foxes and The Tractor Boys will be licking their lips. A point in each game would be a tremendous return heading into another international break.