PNE drew 0-0 with Liam Rosenior's side on Saturday afternoon
Preston North End shared the spoils with play-off rivals Hull City on Saturday afternoon - as it finished 0-0 at Deepdale.
Here are our talking points from the, fairly entertaining, goalless draw...
1. On the hunt
Hull don't half give you a chance and North End went after the ball with intensity, in the opening exchanges of both halves. It is always going to be tough to maintain that level of energy, so it was a case of PNE trying to nick it and score while Hull knew, if they managed to come through both spells, Preston would naturally drop off. Ryan Lowe's side have been accused of lacking a plan at times, but there was a clear structure here and everyone seemed to know their jobs down to a tee. North End actually did the hard part of winning the ball high up the pitch, but they were unable to stick it in the back of the net on those two or three occasions. Post-match, Lowe said: "The first half, we wanted to come out of the blocks and stamp our authority down - which we did. We were unlucky with a couple of moments, because we were jumping them and we got it a few times. Fair play, they got out a couple of times and kept doing it. Second half, we did it again and wanted to be on the front foot. They are the small moments and maybe it's a bit of luck: the right pass, shot selection. But yeah, we want to do that and I said to the lads that if they raised it 10 per cent, there was an opportunity to go and win in the second half. They certainly did that, but we just lacked a bit - whether it was decision making from us, or someone else."
It's never great to be talking about officials after a game, but you could hardly blame Ryan Lowe for doing so on Saturday. For the second time this season against Hull City, PNE looked to have a really strong shout for a penalty kick turned down. At the MKM Stadium, Alan Browne was dragged to the ground, inside the box and at Deepdale, Will Keane seemingly was as well - when going in for the rebound after Emil Riis' shot was parried out by Ryan Allsop. Thomas Bramall is an experienced referee, who officiates in the Premier League and replays show that his view was clear enough - even if slightly far back. Perhaps the significance of the game played on Bramall's mind - only he will know that. Both players were facing in the opposite direction too, but this was a big call at a crucial stage of the match. Of course, the penalty would've still needed converting - but time will tell just how costly that proves to be for Preston.
Liam Lindsay pipped him to Man of the Match - and the big Scot did put in a solid shift - but Ali McCann was exceptional in midfield for Preston. His running data would've made for fascinating viewing post-match, because the number 13 simply didn't stop. He maintained his level of intensity - something he sets particularly well - until the final whistle. McCann was like a dog in there, snapping away at Hull's technical players and doing his job magnificently out-of-possession. The stats sometimes don't match up with the eye test, but McCann made five tackles and five interceptions over the course of the game - as well as two key passes. He played a big part in last week's win at Coventry and backed that up here, with a relentless performance. But, it is exactly what Lowe has come to expect from his player. When asked post-match, if that is the best he has seen McCann, PNE's boss said: "No, I have seen him do that all the time! That is what he does. He gets around and he tackles. I don't like singling people out, but all over the park they were excellent."
He may have been the one involved with Keane for the penalty shout, but Jacob Greaves had one hell of a performance for Hull. You know an opposition player is top quality when you wish they were yours - and actually start to enjoy aspects of their performance on the day. Emil Riis has incredible pace and power, but he may have come up against his toughest opponent of the season on Saturday. Ben Davies often made it look easy in the Championship and to the Hull man's credit, he did the same for large parts of Saturday's contest. Aggressive, dominant and athletic, Hull have a terrific player on their hands.
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