Paul Heckingbottom reaction to Preston North End 0-3 Aston Villa and 'little eye-opener' for Deepdale
PNE were beaten 0-3 in Sunday’s quarter-final against Aston Villa in the FA Cup
Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom remained proud of his players despite Sunday’s 0-3 loss to Aston Villa, in the FA Cup quarter-final at Deepdale.
The Lilywhites competed impressively in the first half and restricted Unai Emery’s side to precious little, in the way of goal scoring opportunities. But, on-loan Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford scored a five-minute brace either side of the hour mark - before Jacob Ramsey’s solo effort killed the tie for good.
Post-match, Heckingbottom said: “Yeah, listen, it turned into a difficult afternoon and I can't say we're not disappointed. Of course we are, because of the prize and where we are. Of course we're disappointed, but proud of everyone connected with the club. We would have been up against it with everyone fit, against this team. We acquitted ourselves well. I felt we had the best chance of the game until they scored. We really needed, and really wanted, that first goal to change things. Then, that five-minute spell, bang, bang, we're two down and then it was comfortable for Villa.
“Even though they’d had more of the ball, we had the moments. I felt we started the second half well enough so yeah, proud of everyone, but we're obviously disappointed with the outcome. The margins are so fine, you know? We'd limited them. They had a good ball down the side of our box, maybe flashed a couple of crosses in. But we defended well and their efforts were from distance. But that moment then, that bit of space, they broke down their left and exploited that space. All of a sudden you're one down, and then the penalty a few minutes later took the game away.”
“We have to look for that, definitely.”
One clear factor on the day was the soaring levels of athleticism and power within Villa’s, near enough, fully fit squad on the afternoon. By contrast, Preston were heavily depleted for various reasons. Heckingbottom admitted that was a telling element in the second half.
“Yeah, that is the difference,” said Heckingbottom. “Premier League, forget the technical ability - you all expect that when the levels go up - but the physicality of players is different, totally different. They're making a change, and we've got four lads on the bench who are looking to make their debuts. We knew we were limited today, and that's why I'm proud of everyone. Jordan (Storey) had to come straight in and play 90, did well. That's where we're at, but we wouldn't change anything.
“It’s the way it's just fallen for us today. It's hundreds of millions of pounds! (how you close the athleticism gap). You can go in recruiting and say: ‘Right, we're only going to recruit anyone who's got Premier League athleticism. If we can afford them, then they're probably not footballers. So we have to look for that, and still look for players that we can develop and we think, potentially, can go on to that next level. And then if we do that, we either get the success together, or they get sold. But that's what you've got to look for, definitely.”
One thing which cannot be taken away from PNE on the day is the atmosphere the Deepdale faithful produced pre-match, and in the opening exchanges - as North End carried the fight to Villa. The Alan Kelly Town End produced an incredible Tifo and a Sir Tom Finney Flag was surfed across his own stand, as the two teams emerged.
Heckingbottom said: “Yeah, it was great. Loved that, you know? I hope everyone else did. We appreciate that support - the players have got that full house here, with how they play, perform, the energy, their effort to get us through the rounds to here. We want more of the same. We're on about the stage of the season now, I'd love it to be like that for the last eight games and be at the top end, competing for things.
“That's what this game's all about. I hope it is a little eye-opener for everyone, that those are the days we're chasing. That's it, that's what we want and we have to get the wins, the performances to get that. Our fans have been superb but can you imagine, like I say, it's a cup-quarer final so it's a full house. If we're chasing the playoffs, can we get the full house? That's my expectation; that's what I want from the club.”
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