19-04-2025, 09:52
Preston North End 1 Lindsay Queens Park Rangers 2 Frey, Andersen
![[Image: Screenshot-2025-04-19-081652.png]](https://i.ibb.co/JjqTxfLD/Screenshot-2025-04-19-081652.png)
Attendance: 14,922 (1,039 QPR fans).
Referee: Mr J Simpson.
Hard to know where to start with this, there are several words I could use to describe the second the half performance which has to go down as the worst I have ever seen in the 56 years of penal servitude watching them.
We led at half time probably slightly fortunate, mainly due to Rangers young loanee from Spurs Min-Hyeok inability to hit the target, they also lost their other Far Eastern playerSaito which looked like he had dislocated his shoulder, the time added on for his injury proved to be a God send we scored.
Brady cross poor defending Lindsay back post, header 1 up.
Next attack we got a corner, dfender headed against is his own post and that was as good as it got, Franz KKlammer time, downhill rapidly.
Should have been worried when the team wandered onto the pitch wearing Rangers shirt, might as well as we spent all 45 minutes passing to them.
One effort of note, Mads mazy run set up Greenwood shot well blocked by the defender, with ten minutes liike an unlikely win looked on the cards but then we failed to defend a cross, Frey beat Cornell maybe should have done better, but the winner in the 94th minute although a great strike by Andersen was from a pinpoint pass from Mads.
Dreadful
The manager was non to impressed either
HECK
Following the late defeat to Queens Park Rangers, Paul Heckingbottom reinforced that he’s ready to make changes at Preston North End.
PNE had taken the lead at Deepdale courtesy of Liam Lindsay’s first of the season, but goals in the 80th and 94th minute for the visitors saw the Lilywhites fall to a first home defeat since November 2024.
There's been a lot of talk heading into the final few matches about not allowing a repeat of endings to previous campaigns, and after the loss against QPR, the manager now feels even more so that change is needed.
Hecky said: “Today was a real fight at times and knowhow, and as good as we looked in the first half, they looked hungrier in the second half. We can't have that, no matter what stage of the season it is.
“I'm probably not the first manager here to be saying that at this stage of the season. My job and Peter’s (Ridsdale) job is to make sure that we're the last, otherwise we're part of the problem, so 100% it’s got to change.
“If it's not in you and it's not innate to have these qualities, then it's forever a challenge to drive it out of someone. Does that make sense? When things are easy, you can show them. When things are tough, you tend to fall back and then show what you really are. That's the challenge to the players.
“We've got to change it because we can't have that, otherwise it's always going to be the same story at Preston come the end of the season. That’s the big task in the summer.”
The Lilywhites went into the half-time break a goal to the good thanks to Lindsay’s header on the end of a pinpoint Robbie Brady cross.
North End couldn’t build on their advantage, though, and the manager felt his team lost the good bits of their performance in the second half.
Hecky said: “I felt we could still improve, definitely, but then straight away at the start of the second half, the players are playing out of position and then giving the ball away.
“If you're in that position, you can still see the game out and defend really strongly. It's a bit of everything. It was just really, really poor.
“I could see individuals and see the players in those moments – we're not strong enough to see the game out. The goals were really poor from our part.”
MARTI
MARTÍ Cifuentes was a proud man in Preston after QPR beat the Lilywhites 2-1 with late goals from Michael Frey and Lucas Andersen turning the game on its head.
Liam Lindsay gave the hosts the lead just before the break but Frey levelled matters with ten minutes remaining before an Andersen thunderbolt sealed maximum points in injury time.
The win also confirmed QPR’s Championship status with three matches remaining.
“I'm really happy for the team and for the guys because it's not easy to win here,” Cifuentes said.
“Preston have only lost two games at home in the whole season and they are not an easy team to play against.
“We spoke during the week that it could be an uncomfortable game to play because of the way they play, a very physical team, they defend very aggressively, man-to-man almost all over the pitch.
“I think the first 35, 40 minutes we did pretty well. Unfortunately, we couldn't take, in my opinion, what would have been a deserved lead because we were creating some chances.
“Unfortunately, the only mistake we made perhaps in the whole game, they scored from a throw-in.”
Andersen and Frey came off the bench to grab the crucial goals, and Cifuentes said: “I'm very happy for all the guys.
“We have been talking during the whole season that everybody will be important. One of my main targets as a manager is always to keep the whole squad involved. I think the subs, the way we're rotating in the last games is showing that everybody wants to help the team and is ready to contribute.”
marti_1920.jpg
Koki Saito was forced from the action during the first half after falling awkwardly, and the head coach admitted: “That's the only bad news from today's game.
“He hurt his shoulder. He was in a lot of pain, so they took him to the hospital and now they are doing some tests.”
With three games remaining, Cifuentes is determined to see a strong finish to the season.
“We need to keep on going because whatever we achieve today will not help us to win against Swansea, “ he said.
“We are safe and we have achieved the first target as a club. The next target, as I've been saying this season, is to make sure that we at least achieve the 56 points that we achieved last season. So we've got three games to try to get there.
“I’m a competitive person. The guys are competitive. We will not just relax and now in the next games accept average performances.
“We want to keep pushing and finish the season in a good way.”
Attendance: 14,922 (1,039 QPR fans).
Referee: Mr J Simpson.
Hard to know where to start with this, there are several words I could use to describe the second the half performance which has to go down as the worst I have ever seen in the 56 years of penal servitude watching them.
We led at half time probably slightly fortunate, mainly due to Rangers young loanee from Spurs Min-Hyeok inability to hit the target, they also lost their other Far Eastern playerSaito which looked like he had dislocated his shoulder, the time added on for his injury proved to be a God send we scored.
Brady cross poor defending Lindsay back post, header 1 up.
Next attack we got a corner, dfender headed against is his own post and that was as good as it got, Franz KKlammer time, downhill rapidly.
Should have been worried when the team wandered onto the pitch wearing Rangers shirt, might as well as we spent all 45 minutes passing to them.
One effort of note, Mads mazy run set up Greenwood shot well blocked by the defender, with ten minutes liike an unlikely win looked on the cards but then we failed to defend a cross, Frey beat Cornell maybe should have done better, but the winner in the 94th minute although a great strike by Andersen was from a pinpoint pass from Mads.
Dreadful
The manager was non to impressed either
HECK
Following the late defeat to Queens Park Rangers, Paul Heckingbottom reinforced that he’s ready to make changes at Preston North End.
PNE had taken the lead at Deepdale courtesy of Liam Lindsay’s first of the season, but goals in the 80th and 94th minute for the visitors saw the Lilywhites fall to a first home defeat since November 2024.
There's been a lot of talk heading into the final few matches about not allowing a repeat of endings to previous campaigns, and after the loss against QPR, the manager now feels even more so that change is needed.
Hecky said: “Today was a real fight at times and knowhow, and as good as we looked in the first half, they looked hungrier in the second half. We can't have that, no matter what stage of the season it is.
“I'm probably not the first manager here to be saying that at this stage of the season. My job and Peter’s (Ridsdale) job is to make sure that we're the last, otherwise we're part of the problem, so 100% it’s got to change.
“If it's not in you and it's not innate to have these qualities, then it's forever a challenge to drive it out of someone. Does that make sense? When things are easy, you can show them. When things are tough, you tend to fall back and then show what you really are. That's the challenge to the players.
“We've got to change it because we can't have that, otherwise it's always going to be the same story at Preston come the end of the season. That’s the big task in the summer.”
The Lilywhites went into the half-time break a goal to the good thanks to Lindsay’s header on the end of a pinpoint Robbie Brady cross.
North End couldn’t build on their advantage, though, and the manager felt his team lost the good bits of their performance in the second half.
Hecky said: “I felt we could still improve, definitely, but then straight away at the start of the second half, the players are playing out of position and then giving the ball away.
“If you're in that position, you can still see the game out and defend really strongly. It's a bit of everything. It was just really, really poor.
“I could see individuals and see the players in those moments – we're not strong enough to see the game out. The goals were really poor from our part.”
MARTI
MARTÍ Cifuentes was a proud man in Preston after QPR beat the Lilywhites 2-1 with late goals from Michael Frey and Lucas Andersen turning the game on its head.
Liam Lindsay gave the hosts the lead just before the break but Frey levelled matters with ten minutes remaining before an Andersen thunderbolt sealed maximum points in injury time.
The win also confirmed QPR’s Championship status with three matches remaining.
“I'm really happy for the team and for the guys because it's not easy to win here,” Cifuentes said.
“Preston have only lost two games at home in the whole season and they are not an easy team to play against.
“We spoke during the week that it could be an uncomfortable game to play because of the way they play, a very physical team, they defend very aggressively, man-to-man almost all over the pitch.
“I think the first 35, 40 minutes we did pretty well. Unfortunately, we couldn't take, in my opinion, what would have been a deserved lead because we were creating some chances.
“Unfortunately, the only mistake we made perhaps in the whole game, they scored from a throw-in.”
Andersen and Frey came off the bench to grab the crucial goals, and Cifuentes said: “I'm very happy for all the guys.
“We have been talking during the whole season that everybody will be important. One of my main targets as a manager is always to keep the whole squad involved. I think the subs, the way we're rotating in the last games is showing that everybody wants to help the team and is ready to contribute.”
marti_1920.jpg
Koki Saito was forced from the action during the first half after falling awkwardly, and the head coach admitted: “That's the only bad news from today's game.
“He hurt his shoulder. He was in a lot of pain, so they took him to the hospital and now they are doing some tests.”
With three games remaining, Cifuentes is determined to see a strong finish to the season.
“We need to keep on going because whatever we achieve today will not help us to win against Swansea, “ he said.
“We are safe and we have achieved the first target as a club. The next target, as I've been saying this season, is to make sure that we at least achieve the 56 points that we achieved last season. So we've got three games to try to get there.
“I’m a competitive person. The guys are competitive. We will not just relax and now in the next games accept average performances.
“We want to keep pushing and finish the season in a good way.”
Why should a man go to work, if he has the health and strength to stay in bed?