Here are our six talking points from Preston North End’s 3-0 defeat to Leicester City on Wednesday night.
1. Ben impresses
Ben Whiteman looked nailed on for his first start of the season, having brought a degree of control to Preston North End’s dismal performance against West Brom in the previous outing. The number four took the armband in Alan Browne’s absence and partnered Ali McCann in the middle of the pitch. Up against Wilfred Ndidi, Harry Winks and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall - arguably one of the best midfields the Championship has seen - Whiteman held his own. He ended up on the losing side quite comfortably but the midfielder was disciplined out of possession and composed on it. Whenever under pressure, Whiteman kept a cool head and moved the ball on. He was willing to drive forward with the ball on occasions - something which looked extremely natural to him and something you would love to see the number four do more often. In spells, Whiteman looked the classy operator he is and PNE are going to need him to keep those performances up.
2. Key moments
Preston did a lot of things right in the first half as they frustrated the home side, limited them to very few chances at all and had some of their own. But, this was a night where Leicester were always likely to see more of the ball and strengthen as the contest wore on. The first goal felt massive and final third moments were going to be in short supply for North End. Ryan Lowe’s men had gotten into dangerous attacking positions a few times in the first half, but the golden chance came along just minutes before the interval. And Duane Holmes was clear in what he wanted to do, but placed his low effort the wrong side of the post after racing through on goal. On these tough evenings you’ve got to make key moments count and Holmes’ miss - albeit not as easy as it may have looked - proved costly in the end.
3. Intriguing subs
We know Ryan Lowe is not against handing young players minutes on the Championship stage, but seeing Noah Mawene stripped off and ready to enter Wednesday’s clash did come as a surprise. Mawene has not been in the last few match day squads, but was ready to come on - alongside Ben Woodburn and Kian Best - with the score line 1-0 to Leicester. The Foxes made it two before the three PNE men got on to the field, but Lowe had them ready with Preston only one goal away from equalising. He explained that decision post-match - citing Mawene’s energy, improved quality and efforts in training leading up to the match. His introduction and the subsequent omission of Mads Frokjaer was a big talking point post-match, with Preston’s £1.2million summer signing an unused substitute on a night when Lowe used all five available to him. The Dane has seen game time dry up in the last few matches, having started the season a starter in Lowe’s team. PNE’s boss must have his reasons and while there is plenty of time on side for Frokjaer to get himself back in, his absence on Wednesday did feel peculiar and far from ideal.
4. Skipper’s absence felt
Jack Whatmough and Greg Cunningham came in for Jordan Storey (ill) and Andrew Hughes (calf). The defensive pair both did themselves no harm and put in decent shifts on the whole. There would’ve been frustration at the goals conceded, of course, but Leicester’s play was just that bit too sharp and the first goal was certainly unfortunate from PNE’s perspective. So, despite the 3-0 score line, you would’ve struggled to criticise North End’s defenders too heavily - especially given the fact Whatmough and Cunningham were coming in from the cold against a high level opponent. The absence of club captain Alan Browne, though, was a blow on the night. Duane Holmes was lively as the most advanced midfielder and carried a threat, but Browne’s anticipation and intensity off the ball could’ve been a big boost for Preston. Leicester did slip up when playing out a few times in the first half and Browne thrives in those situations - nicking the ball and penetrating defences. Holmes worked his socks off on the night and nobody was overly poor for Preston, but Browne’s athleticism, energy and legs would’ve certainly been good to have.