Preston’s playoff hopes took another dent on Saturday with a 0-0 draw at Huddersfield Town.
After two home defeats to Cardiff City and Derby County, North End needed to try and get back to winning ways in order to haul themselves back towards the top six.
Well, we didn’t lose… but we didn’t win either. A 0-0 draw was probably fair for a rather dour game, with North End failing to manage even a single shot on target.
Scott Sinclair had a couple of late efforts and Seani Maguire fired wide with the last kick of the game, with Preston ultimately leaving it far too late to have a go.
It’s hard to see North End breaking back into the top six now, so finding a positive is difficult. Still, Ryan Ledson turned in a strong performance in midfield.
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Ledson hadn’t started a league game since the thrashing at Hull City in November – and even that came at full back due to an injury crisis. He had managed just 17 minutes of Championship action in 2020 before yesterday’s display.
The 22-year-old has been forced to settle for being cover for Ben Pearson, but the pair actually played together in the North End midfield on Saturday afternoon.
Ledson turned in a promising display. He made a team-high four interceptions as he broke up play well, whilst he also recorded one key pass, one aerial, two tackles and five accurate long balls.
Ledson really ran himself into the ground on Saturday, and looked exhausted when he was substituted – which is more than fair given his lack of playing time.
Fans appreciated his display, taking to Twitter to claim that he showed his brilliance. Some praised him as man of the match, adding that he was superb in the Preston engine room.