Preston boss Alex Neil has mixed feelings over Derby penalty

Matej Vydra’s spot kick just before the hour mark saw the Lilywhites slip to a first Championship defeat of the season.

Paul Huntington was the guilty party, hauling back Curtis Davies as Tom Huddlestone’s corner was sent into the penalty area.

North End had been previously warned by referee Geoff Eltringham about holding but were made to pay.

“The penalty’s a difficult one,” Neil said.

“Everyone’s pulling about and scrambling and pulling back.

“People are jostling for position and you don’t want to let your marker away from you.

“I’ve talked about getting touch tight and making sure nobody gets away from you.

“At times you can overstep the mark and that’s deemed to have been the case tonight.

“It’s one of them where I’ve seen them given and seen them bypassed.

“I’m not suggesting we were harshly done by.

“The disappointing thing for me is that linesmen seem to get involved when and if they chose to.

“It’s frustrating and I’m sure every manager up and down the country will be the same.”

As for the game itself, Neil felt his side didn’t do enough in possession at Pride Park, chances limited on a night where Derby were well worth their first win of the season.

“I felt our use of the ball wasn’t as good as it has been,” said the North End boss.

“Certainly in the first half we got into good positions and didn’t make it count.

“They got in good positions and were more threatening which was the story of the game and was disappointing.

“Just after half time Derby put us under pressure for a good 12-15 minutes and we didn’t really cope with it.

“I didn’t think we moved the ball well enough or saw the game out.”