Leeds United loan star admits 'head was gone' after 'weird' Preston North End match at Plymouth Argyle
Leeds United loanee scored in Preston’s 3-3 draw at Home Park
Preston North End star Sam Greenwood was left stunned by Saturday’s 3-3 draw at Plymouth Argyle.
The Leeds United loan man scored his fourth goal of the season, to fire Paul Heckingbottom’s side ahead in the first half at Home Park. By 48 minutes, Preston were three goals to the good, thanks to strikes - either side of the break - from Mads Frokjaer and Brad Potts.
More opportunities came along over the course of the second half, but PNE didn’t take them. And, in the 92nd minute of the contest, Morgan Whittaker completed the unlikeliest of comebacks for Argyle - who had looked down and out for the majority of the contest.
"It was a kick in the teeth," said Greenwood. "We played some brilliant stuff, but seeing games out is key in this league. If you look at our performances, they are getting better and better each week. If we keep doing that, we'll get better all the time.
“The manager was frustrated; I think everyone was. My head was gone, because we played so well. I think they only had three or four chances in the second half... it was crazy. It was absolute domination from basically start to finish.
“It was a weird game and we just have to forget about it now. We take the point and move on. I was so tired at the end as well and just gutted, but we go again. You can see with our performances that we are more aggressive and we keep the ball better - we just need to keep improving."
From a personal point of view, though, North End’s number 20 feels in a good place. He scored from the penalty spot against Norwich City - his first of the Championship campaign - and made it two in two at Plymouth. Greenwood admits his red card against Blackburn Rovers was a learning curve for him and now hopes to put a run of strong form together.
“Yeah, definitely,” said Greenwood. “I am feeling good, feeling sharp and to get a couple of goals is nice - so hopefully I can just carry it on now and keep the consistency going. It’s down to me to show the manager he can trust me. If I do well, then he can trust me.
“Especially after getting sent off, which is one of those things. It was just a big learning curve for me personally - and I probably shouldn’t have made that tackle. But, because I am so aggressive in the way I press and want to win the ball so badly, I think I just lunged a bit too much.
“It is a good learning lesson for me and I have got to keep going now. I have always had that since I was a young kid and I’ve always loved to press. I know a lot of people don’t like that side of that game, because it is a lot of running, but I really enjoy it - working hard for the team and just being a team player really.”