[themaclad]

Referee: Anthony Backhouse

Attendance: 19,792 (6,014 PNE fans)

https://www.fotmob.com/matches/preston-v...tab=lineup

A night of ineptness at the home of those who play in blue and white quarters, lost to a 95th minute goal recycled ball from the left headed back and cross goal by Ohashi it gve the home side the points and a deserved win.
We were shocking spent the evening playing Pep ball at a pace of slow to stop, went absolutely nowhere and the home side just sat back waiting for us to make a mistake, which we did or numerous occasions and pplayed with pace on the break.
Probably the better side n the early stages, hit the bar direct froma Devine corner, nice run by Dobbin, easy save by Toth, they had a coupel of half chances and at times Cornell's handling looked at bit suspect but apart from that it was a soporific first halh, heaven knows what they made of it on Sky.
More of the same in the second period although they looked more likely denied by Cornell a couple of times especially when the defence mysteriously disappeared and he won the race to beat the oncoming player.
Devine free kick hit the post just needed a flick and we would have gone on front, but we were flickless.
Both forwards and wing backs were changed nothing changed apart in the 95th minute when the scoreline changed.
Poor

HECK
Paul Heckingbottom was disappointed to suffer defeat against Blackburn Rovers.

The Lilywhites fell victim to a stoppage-time winner courtesy of Yuki Ohashi, who headed home from inside PNE’s box.

“Tough to take when you lose like that at the end,” admitted Hecky. “It's a shocking goal from our point of view, so I'm angry about that.

“We'd have taken the point, we didn't create enough, we had a lot of the ball, didn't create enough. We had pressure, we had territory. But when you're looking for clear-cut chances, nothing really.”



North End came up against a Blackburn side under new leadership, with Michael O’Neill recently appointed as their boss until the end of the 2025/26 campaign.

Hecky explained how he wanted to set up against the Northern Ireland national team manager, whilst also praising the 6,000+ travelling PNE fans.

“We wanted to be flexible with the shape,” stated the boss. “So we could play players who have generally played well against that system before. But we didn't carry enough threat.

“We had good moments, we had control of the game in spells, but in the second half, they looked more likely, whether it was on the counter or at the end with the set play.

“The fans were great, they're just as sick as I am now. I think they'd have taken the point at the end.

“Away from home, every Championship game away from home is tough. I didn't feel under too much pressure, and I would have taken a clean sheet, but I'm just angry at how we've thrown the game away.”

O'NEIL

A beaming Michael O’Neill was thrilled to continue his winning start in charge of Rovers following the late, late win over Preston North End at Ewood Park.

A dramatic header from Yuki Ohashi earned O’Neill’s men a 1-0 victory in the 90th minute of the Lancashire derby and sparked great scenes at Ewood.

The 56-year-old has only been at Rovers for a week, but he’s overseen two victories that have propelled the team up the table.

And this one tasted even sweeter for the boss with it being his first experience of the all-Lancashire affair, with Ohashi the hero when he crashed home a header from Eiran Cashin’s deep cross.

“It was a great night for us and a great night for me, personally,” the boss reflected to RoversTV.


“I’m very proud with what the team gave and it was a brilliant way to win.

“I know it’s been tough here for the supporters this season and it’s been good to pay them back a little bit as well.

“I felt like the game was maybe drifting towards that 0-0, we nearly scored off the corner and you perhaps felt like it wasn’t going to fall for us. It just shows you what happens if you keep going and show that perseverance.

“Cash [Cashin] did great to keep it alive, we got the opportunity and it was a brilliant header from Yuki to win it.

“I think he’s a very unselfish player and you can tell that already even though I’ve only been here for seven days," he added, paying tribute to the match-winner.

“I can see what kind of character he is. He always wants to do more after training and he has a big part to play.

“I thought he was good on Saturday when he came on as well, and it’s good that he got the goal.

“Every striker wants to start, but the most important thing when you come off the bench is to make an impact. He did that.

“It’s a great night all round. I’m trying to keep everyone level-headed because things can change very quickly, but we can enjoy tonight and make sure we’re ready for Tuesday."