Preston North End and Burnley played out a 0-0 draw on Saturday lunchtime, but it was The Lilywhites who came away from the game cursing their luck.
Preston pushed one of the promotion favourites all the way, and if it wasn’t for a poor decision from the linesman they could have inflicted just the second defeat in 40 home games at this level for Burnley.
A well worked set-piece
Early in the game Ben Whiteman took a quick free-kick and Emil Riis peeled away from the Burnley defence before smashing in a low drive. The linesman flagged straight away but replays showed the Dane was clearly onside. It would have made for a very different game if we took the lead early on, but given how little Burnley managed to create, it’s very frustrating that we were denied a potential winner there.
VAR dominates every week in the Premier League now but with it not being used below that level that was nothing Preston could do but bemoan their luck.
Another fine display
Kaine Kesler-Hayden picked up the man of the match award on the day and it was richly deserved. Burnley’s attacking outlets were mainly down the wings with Jaidon Anthony and Luca Koleosho. They swapped over at half-time and Kesler-Hayden also ended up up playing on the right and the left.
He kept the tricky wingers quiet but he was also very key in getting us up the right end of the pitch as well. He almost scored at the end of the first-half, doing very well to get on the end of a Mads Frokjaer cross with his effort clipping the bar and going over.
His pace means that he provides a great overlapping option and is back to defend when he needs to. He is equally adept at both ends of the pitch, It looks like we have another loan gem on our hands, and one that we will need to make the most of for this season.
Confidence is growing
We’re now seven league games into Paul Heckingbottom’s reign. The defeats at Oxford and Millwall were very poor but aside from that North End have looked a lot more organised. The players seem to have more confidence in seeing games out and going up against sides considered to be stronger than us.
It often felt like Ryan Lowe gave far too much respect to other teams. Coming up against Burnley he would have played all his defensive cards. Whereas on Saturday Preston had more touches in the final third and were the most likely to break the deadlock. It was a far cry from the last time we visited Turf Moor where Burnley dominated and eased to a 3-0 win with Lowe and Preston having no answers at all to the threats from The Clarets.
Heckingbottom has clearly told the players to take more risks and be bolder with their decisions. We’ve also looked stronger at the back. The defence and Freddie Woodman aren’t without their errors, but we have picked up four clean sheets in the seven games of the Hecky era. A huge step in the right direction.
A new McCann
Ali McCann popped up on Wednesday with his first league goal in nearly three years, and on Saturday he came close twice to adding to that. The Northern Ireland international has great energy and has been encouraged by Heckingbottom to be higher up the pitch.
With only Frokjaer as the natural support to the lone striker in the last two games, we need the midfield to offer more support in the attacking areas.
Neither McCann or Whiteman are known for their goal prowess but there is a huge need for more goals to come from our midfield. McCann had two great chances on Saturday, with one effort being hit into the ground before bouncing just over James Trafford’s goal.
It’s good to see McCann in these more advanced positions.
Potts showing his worth across the pitch
We’ve become accustomed to seeing Brad Potts in the right-wing-back role for the best part of the last three years. It’s easy to forget that he arrived at the club after a great spell at Barnsley as an attacking midifielder.
He impressed in this role for Preston too before a difficult patch. On Saturday he was brought back into the team in the middle of the park. His physicality is important for a derby match, and our midfield kept the dangerous Josh Brownhill very quiet.
It’s one of many options for Heckingbottom in our midfield, and with Kesler-Hayden impressing on the right we could see more of Potts back in his natural position. He can be very effective there with his runs forward, and will still meander out to the right hand side to find space as well.
Another international break is now upon us but it gives Heckingbottom and Stuart McCall more time to work with this squad, and that can only be a good thing from what we have seen so far.