Preston’s unbeaten Championship run continued on Tuesday night, drawing 1-1 at Middlesbrough.
After a 3-3 draw at home with Bristol City on Saturday, North End were hoping for an away win. It wasn’t exactly a convincing display, but Josh Harrop did put Preston in front in the first half.
That momentarily put North End joint-top of the Championship table, but it barely lasted two minutes. Middlesbrough quickly hit back, with Darnell Fisher inadvertently turning Paddy McNair’s cross into his own net.
Neither side really showed that they deserved to win, and a draw was probably a fair result. North End are now seven games unbeaten in the Championship, and sit fifth in the table.
It wasn’t exactly a game for the purists, and Alex Neil will certainly want better against Barnsley on Saturday. Changes may well come for that game, and Alan Browne may find himself back on the bench.
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The Irishman was brought into the side in place of Paul Gallagher, which caused a midfield re-shuffle from Neil. Daniel Johnson dropped back from his number 10 role to play alongside Ben Pearson, with Browne playing as the 10.
However, Browne didn’t really have the impact he’d have wanted, and Johnson was disappointing further back. Browne, 24, has been in and out of the side this season, and is yet to score his first goal of the campaign.
That’s a surprise given that Browne hit 19 league goals in his first two seasons under Neil. Browne hasn’t quite got going yet, and whilst he’ll surely pick up his form sooner rather than later, some fans are worried.
North Enders took to Twitter last night to criticise Browne’s display, noting that he looks half the player from last season, and just hasn’t been as effective this term, with some left wondering just what on earth happened to him over the summer.
https://twitter.com/alexjoyce05/status/1179138932824522753
https://twitter.com/astley_ben/status/1179119600090398723