Coventry City snatched a last-gasp equaliser against Preston on Saturday – but it seems North End pipped them to Ben Whiteman back in 2021.
Preston headed to Coventry on Saturday, seeking another great away day; Ryan Lowe’s travelling army has become quite the theme this year.
Liam Lindsay was sent off for Preston before Coventry’s Fankaty Dabo followed suit, dragging down Emil Riis on his way to goal.
Daniel Johnson scored from the subsequent penalty, seemingly giving Preston all three points.
However, there was a late twist in the tale as Fabio Tavares conjured up a stunning late equaliser, handing Coventry a 1-1 draw.
One interesting story has emerged from Saturday’s draw, with Mark Robins making some intriguing comments about Ben Whiteman.
Preston secured the signing of Whiteman in January 2021, striking a £1.8million deal with Doncaster Rovers.
Whiteman has been a key player ever since and especially under Lowe, serving as the team’s ‘quarterback’ in front of the back three.
Whiteman is likely to be vital moving forward too, and many Championship managers would no doubt love to have him.
Coventry boss Robins has now told the Coventry Telegraph that the Sky Blues talked to Whiteman ‘a lot’, seemingly suggesting that he wanted to sign the midfielder.
In the end, Preston won the race, leaving Robins and Coventry to wonder what might have been.
Robins did though note that Callum O’Hare did a great job marking Whiteman on Saturday, feeling that Preston’s chief midfield maestro was dealt with brilliantly.
“Their manager was lauding Ben Whiteman as one of the best midfielders in the league but Callum O’Hare has kept him really quiet and I can’t remember too much in terms of what he has done to us,” said Robins. “And yet, you watch his games and he generally controls the midfield area really well.”
“We know Ben Whiteman, obviously when he played for Doncaster Rovers we spoke to him a lot because he’s a really good player and they appreciate the way we go about what we do,” he added.