Dave Seddon's verdict: Preston 1 Birmingham 2 - Deepdale defeat sees PNE match an unwanted record

Five league defeats in a row at home is ridiculous, only once has that happened before in PNE’s history.

That was 61 years ago when for a two-month spell in the second-half of the 1958/59 campaign West Bromwich Albion, Blackburn, Nottingham Forest, Wolves and Burnley beat them on home soil.

The roll call this time is Swansea, Stoke, Cardiff, Millwall and Birmingham.

Of that quintet, it was Birmingham who you would say were made to work the hardest for their victory by North End.

That was in the sense of the balance of play, not that they had to work particularly hard for their two goals.

The Blues – clad in all red for the occasion – found the net early and late on.

They benefited from a catalogue of sloppy play for their opener, then from some non-existent marking for the 85th minute winner.

In between there came a ray of hope through Jayden Stockley’s stunning equaliser that PNE might put a brake on the poor home results.

It was to be false hope, a shame really because it was a goal which deserved to be so much more than it turned out.

What is clear is that the Lilywhites are drained of confidence when it comes to playing at home.

On their travels they are a different beast, a trait which will be put to the test at league leaders Reading in midweek.

In terms of an explanation for the Deepdale form, Alex Neil was at a loss to provide one in the post-match press conference.

It’s the home form which is seeing a section of fans starting to lose faith in him.

Their concern goes over results in PR1 go back almost 12 months.

On November 9 last year, PNE beat Huddersfield 3-1, a result which cemented them in second place.

Of the 19 home matches played since, they’ve lost 12, won five and drawn two.

It is three weeks until they play at Deepdale again, a break they could with.

On the balance of play against Birmingham, you would reason that they deserved a point.

They recovered from the setback of conceding with barely a minute played, to pull level and create the better of the chances.

At least there was a bit more creativity this time in contrast to how barren that side of their game was three days earlier against Millwall.

In the closing stages some anxiety started to creep into their play.

They were not helped by losing Darnell Fisher to cramp in his recently recovered hamstring, then Andrew Hughes pulling up with a strain in the same part of his body.

Fisher was replaced by Joe Rafferty but the three subs had been used by the time Hughes clutched the back of his leg and the Welshman was forced to play the last 15 minutes on one leg.

The cross for Birmingham’s winner came from Hughes’ side of the pitch, not that fingers should be pointed at him in this case.

It was just that obviously Preston were struggling down their left at that stage.

However, there was no mitigation for substitute Gary Gardner getting a free header inside the six-yard box.

Neil’s attempt to spark the home form into life saw him ring the changes on Saturday, five of them to be exact.

Some of those who had been hit by a stomach bug last week but played in the Millwall game, got a break on the bench.

Stockley, Fisher, Josh Harrop, Tom Barkhuizen and Paul Gallagher got the nod to start.

Harrop and Gallagher made their first league starts of the season, Stockley back in the XI for the first time since Stoke on September 26.

Fisher had last played at Norwich in the second game of the season, his attacking thrust from the right-back spot a welcome addition.

Neil stuck with 4-2-3-1, Harrop playing on the left and Barkhuizen the right.

He had Alan Browne as the No.10, with Daniel Johnson operating deeper next to Gallagher.

Skipper Browne playing off Stockley is a dynamic Neil likes, while he felt DJ would be more effective deeper, as he had been against Millwall.

Before kick-off we stood in silence to remember Nobby Stiles who crammed so much success into his career.

A man who won the World Cup, the European Cup and two league titles as a player, then guided North End to promotion in his first season as a manager, deserved a full stadium in remembrance.

The current situation however, meant just players, officials and media were there to pay their respects.

We had been accustomed to the opposition scoring at Deepdale early in the second half, Swansea, Cardiff and Millwall all have done so.

So Birmingham netting with just one minute and 14 seconds on the clock was a big shock.

Harrop was tackled in the Birmingham half, with the ball played down the right channel.

It should have been routine for Jordan Storey to deal with, however Jonathan Leko got behind him and forced Declan Rudd into a save to block his shot.

With the ball bouncing round, Lukas Jutkiewicz with his back to goal and off balance did very well to hook it across the box for Riley McGree to drive a tidy finish into the net.

Stockley equalised and registered his contender for goal of the season in the 24th minute. Rudd sent a clearance up field which Harlee Dean met on the edge of the Birmingham box to head away.

It fell to Stockley 30 yards out who controlled on his chest, let the ball bounce before sending a shot over keeper Neil Etheridge into the top corner.

Birmingham’s winner was a bit too easy, Mikel San Jose having time on the right to lift a cross into the middle for Gardner to nod past Rudd.

Even at that late stage, PNE almost salvaged an equaliser, Barkhuizen’s curling shot from the left corner of the box superbly tipped behind by Etheridge.

It was a similar angle and distance to the stunner he scored against Blackburn 12 months ago which won him the goal of the season award.

He wasn't quite as fortunate with this one, the blast of the referee's whistle a few minutes late condemning North End to another home defeat, matching the run of 1959.

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