‘Looked flat. Always bottle it. Not angry, just disappointed’ – The Preston North End verdict following Deepdale defeat to struggling Stoke

Preston North End fans have been venting their frustrations on social media after seeing the Lilywhites lose 2-1 at home to relegation-threatened Stoke.

The loss – against a side many believed were there for the taking – brought North End’s seven-match unbeaten run to an end and dealt a blow to their play-off hopes.

Here’s wat fans on X, formerly Twitter, had to say as Ryan Lowe’s side slipped to ninth in the table and five points off the top six.

@Worthington_PNE: Team that wanted it more won it. That’s about it really. We move on. Nice One.

@kimramshead: Poor game today, why can we never do well against clubs below us! Looked flat and didn't look like we were going to do much! Lacked in most areas today! Hopefully today was a blip and onto Plymouth next week!

@pne99ogm: We just weren’t good enough with or without the ball. It was a mindset thing for me as well as a quality thing. The players looked unsure of how to deal with a team that sits back for the counter. We had 1 shot 1st half, 3 in the 2nd - very poor.

@Amzi_B: Bad performance today, Stoke by far the better team and wanted it more. On that performance Stoke will stay up. I give us 1 more game, dont beat Plymouth then play-offs are over its as simple as that. 

@JackBebo: Why do we never win games we expect to win?

@CBoo72: Awful game today. No fluidity & passing. Never seemed to be on the front foot. Didn't press after we scored. Needed Holmes on for a bit of zip. Stoke not much better, but fought for more balls & got the rub of the green in the end. Stoke doing a Preston, on Preston.

@Saintoldsamjane: We get close and always bottle it same old north end.

@tomp_5: Looked like they'd been made to do a marathon a day - some of them looked like they were running in treacle!

@AnonymousPnefc: Not angry just disappointed. Defence was nowhere near good enough and I still think Whatmough is far better than Storey but whatever, on to Plymouth away next Saturday.