Preston North End came away from a wet and windy Hillsborough with a point after Sheffield Wednesday fought back to claim a 1-1 draw.
Emil Riis had given North End a deserved lead in the first half after a quick throw in and a lovely ball in from Mads Frokjaer. Riis could have probably added another shortly after when he was found by Sam Greenwood and Brad Potts came close with the follow up.
You could sense North End needed another goal to kill the game off and despite some guilt edge chances they couldn’t find the second goal, and they would be punished.
We’ve forgotten how to win
3 wins in the last 24 games stretching back to last season. That’s more than half a season worth of games, and only three times have we tasted victory. We haven’t won in our last nine games, and it’s just one win in our last 14 away matches.
It’s no wonder the players are lacking in confidence, and one goal leads aren’t enough for a team who have lost the habit of seeing games out.
It’s all good saying ‘we were the better team’ and ‘the wins will come if we keep on playing like that’. The wins aren’t coming. On the whole during Paul Heckingbottom’s tenure we have played fairly well, but he’s only manged three wins. We need to get more points on the board. Queens Park Rangers and Portsmouth had convincing wins on Saturday and the relegation picture is looking very tight. Preston North End are certainly in a battle.
If Heckingbottom’s current tactics aren’t winning ones then perhaps he needs to switch things around rather than trying the same approach. The wing-backs have not excelled under Heckingbottom. Despite Kaine Kesler-Hayden looking a good talent he’s being wasted on the left, and actual wingers in the squad aren’t being us.
Out of the ten games Preston have drawn this season, it could be fair to say that only once have they not been unfortunate to gain all three points. Aside from the match at Middlesbrough, Preston have been the better team in nine of their draws. But they haven’t been clinical and have let teams back into games too easily.
Potts cost us the game
I’ve mentioned a few times that Brad Potts has been struggling this season. He’s filled a hole in the team for three years but now we actually have Kesler-Hayden as a natural player for that position Potts shouldn’t be in that role. Heckingbottom has to find a solution for the left other than KKH if Robbie Brady isn’t available
In the second half Brad Potts had a chance that he would finish 99 times out of 100. After good work from Greenwood the ball bypassed Riis but found Potts with acres of space at the back post. He controlled the ball and had all the time in the world to apply the finish.
Somehow he missed the target. It was an awful miss and Potts’ game went from bad to worse after that. A 2-0 scoreline wouldn’t have been underserved at that stage and it would have been tough for Wednesday to recover.
Potts tired badly in the game and was struggling on the right. He should have done better for Wednesday’s equaliser. He couldn’t keep up with Anthony Musaba and was easily turned by him before Michael Smith tucked the ball away.
It was poor from Heckingbottom not to see Potts needed to come off, and very surprising that he saw out the whole game.
From hero to zero
Freddie Woodman was lucky to walk back into the team after sitting out the last match with a suspension. Dai Cornell had a solid game against West Bromwich Albion whilst Woodman’s performances have been below par all season.
On Saturday he faced a penalty from Josh Windass and although it was a poor penalty Woodman made the save, and did well to clear the danger straight away as well.
It would have been a huge confidence boost for him to see the game out and get a clean sheet but it wasn’t to be. The equaliser was a very tame shot from Michael Smith which Woodman manged to get a hand to, but was too weak to keep out.
It was poor and you could see the disappointment in his teammates faces after yet another costly mistake from the goalkeeper.
Heckingbottom has to be looking at an alternative in January.
Be brave
The manager is always telling his players to be brave on the ball, rather than playing the safe option but he should have taken a leaf out of his own book for this game. At 1-0 the game was very open and the next goal was always going to be key.
We were creating chances and an extra attacker on the pitch could have been pivotal. Just as we did against West Brom last week, when Ben Whiteman was sacrificed for Will Keane at half time, we could hold onto the ball for longer in the final third and we looked more dangerous.
Keane or Milutin Osmajic should have been brought on earlier to held try and deliver the killer blow to The Owls. The substitutions on the whole were poor and too late. Potts had to come off and Mads Frokjaer was having a great game and should have played the full 90 minutes.
Positives in midfield
After being hooked at half time in two of the last four games Ben Whiteman was finally dropped to the bench for the game at Hillsborough.
Ali McCann was handed the captains armband and put in a performance worthy of that. He has been so impressive this season and under Heckingbottom he has improved his attacking aspect of the game as he is now equally adept at both ends of the pitch.
Stefan Thordarson started alongside McCann and was also impressive. The Icelandic international is always willing to receive the ball and always looks to progress up the pitch with it. He’s not afraid to have a shot on goal, and he links up well with the other players.
Mads Frokjaer had one of his better games of the season. He finds pockets of space and can play balls to his teammates that cut through the opposition’s defence. These three players should be given a run of games together.
Dropping the club captain to the bench was a statement from Heckingbottom but it has been coming for some time. He was perhaps one of the last to see that we are a better team without him. It remains to be seen whether Whiteman will continue on the bench.