Graeme Jones sees Preston North End as beatable after harsh treatment

Graeme Jones thought Preston North End were beatable this afternoon, as his Luton Town side lost 2-1 at Deepdale.
Luton Town boss Graeme Jones looks on at Deepdale.Luton Town boss Graeme Jones looks on at Deepdale.
Luton Town boss Graeme Jones looks on at Deepdale.

It took a late Jayden Stockley goal to take all three points for the Lilywhites, after Paul Gallagher had scored a rebound from his own penalty, and James Collins had levelled from the spot also.

Jones’ changed his approach for this game, previously favouring a 4-1-2-1-2 diamond but instead opting for a 4-5-1.

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The win saw North End rise up to third in the Championship table and Jones felt that his side deserved to be taking a share of the points home with them.

“I thought they were beatable, that’s the truth,” the 49-year-old said.

“Alex won’t thank me for saying it, he’s my pal, Al. But they were beatable.

“We’re in a low moment to come to Deepdale, sixth in the table, now they’re third and they’ve got good players and healthy budget.

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“I know Alex, I know how he is. I made it crystal clear it was going to be a competitive game today , so the boys knew.

“They’re a good side and they’re up there on merit and they’ve got a really good manager.

“We should have taken something from the game.

“A draw was a fair result today, there was nothing in the game.

“This is some away ground to come to and we had a right go. We competed.

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“I changed the shape and got a massive reaction from the group.”

The Luton boss felt his side were hard done to with decisions in the game, but Jones seemed to believe that the size of the two clubs was a factor in the referee’s decision making.

North End were awarded a penalty inside the opening five minutes for a foul on Patrick Bauer that resulted in PNE taking the lead but Jones saw no difference between that and another incident.

He said: “Did you see Sonny Bradley’s wide free kick late on in the first half?

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“For me, they’re identical situations and I think everyone can pass their own opinions on how similar they are.

“If we got to every football league ground in this country, you’d have seen that contact today.

“I’ve said it before, little Luton Town at Deepdale, they’ll give a penalty against us.

“We have to stand up for ourselves. It’s not acceptable, just like Sonny’s is not acceptable, now I’m talking about a 2-1 defeat and I think we’ve been harshly treated.”