Preston North End 0 Swansea City 1 - Match report on an opening-day defeat for the Lilywhites at Deepdale

A poor game was settled by Morgan Gibbs-White's close-range finish in the 53rd minute, that the visitors' only shot on target of the afternoon.

North End didn't have too many chances themselves, the best being a Tom Barkhuizen shot which came back off goalkeeper Freddie Woodman.

They had the greater share of possession but all too often they played in front of Swansea rather than finding a way of penetrating their back line.

It boiled down to a frustrating 90 minutes with much more quality than this needed.

Daniel Johnson's creativity was missed, last season's top scorer and player of the year absent from the match day squad amid speculation linking him with a move to Rangers.

The midfielder watched the game with the rest of the non-playing PNE players from the Invincibles Pavilion.

Alex Neil's first selection of the season saw Jordan Storey got the nod over Patrick Bauer to start alongside Ben Davies in the centre of defence, with Alan Browne operating at right-back.

Ryan Ledson was paired with Ben Pearson in midfield, Brad Potts further ahead of them in the position normally occupied by Johnson.

Neil's front three had Barkhuizen spearhead the attack, with Billy Bodin on the right and Scott Sinclair on the left.

The first half produced plenty of huff-and-puff but little quality in terms of chances.

When Potts sliced a shot on the edge of the box, it fell into the path of Barkhuizen who saw saw his effort blocked by a defender.

A shot from Bodin deflected through to keeper Freddie Woodman after Pearson and Ledson had linked well to find him centrally outside the box

Jake Bidwell fired a volley high and wide of the far post from Connor Roberts' cross, then in the 32nd minute Browne got in a fine block on Jamal Lowe's shot after Andre Ayew pulled the ball back into his strike partner's path.

Swansea had the ball in the net a minute into the second when Bidwell turned home a right-wing cross at the far post but the flag went up for offside.

There was nothing to rescue North End from falling behind in the 53rd minute, Ayew's diagonal ball finding Bidwell in lots of space down the left.

Bidwell kept his cross low, it travelled past Storey in the six-yard box and Gibbs-White - on loan from Wolves - knocked the ball home.

Neil made a double change soon after, Sean Maguire and Jayden Stockley joining the action in place of Bodin and Sinclair.

He switched to a 3-4-1-2, Browne and Barkhuizen operating as wing-backs, with Potts behind front pair Maguire and Stockley.

Just after the substitution, Bidwell sneaked in behind the North End defence to meet another diagonal ball and loop a header over the bar.

PNE came close to an equaliser in the 61st minute, a slick passing sequence leading to Barkhuizen bursting into the box and hitting a low shot which came back off the keeper.

The rebound fell to Potts but he didn't exactly attack the ball with much conviction and the chance went begging.

In the latter stages North End put the pressure on in search of an equaliser but in truth didn't look like finding their way through the visitors' defence.

Browne lifted a cross into the box which Stockley met but his header too close to Woodman who saved comfortably.

In the 89th minute, Barkhuizen's long throw-in was headed out of the box as far as substitute Paul Gallagher, the midfielder's first-time drive blocked in the box.

PNE: Ripley, Browne, Storey, Davies, Hughes, Pearson, Ledson (Gallagher 72), Bodin (Maguire 57), Potts, Sinclair (Stockley 57), Barkhuizen. Subs (not used): Bauer, Harrop, Rafferty, Hudson.

Swansea: Woodman, Cabango, Guehi, Rodon, Roberts, Smith, Grimes, Gibbs-White (Fulton 62), Bidwell, Lowe (Routledge 78), Ayew. Subs (not used): Peterson, Cullen, Dhanda, Naughton, Benda.

Referee: Robert Jones (Merseyside)