Ex-Preston North End man pinpoints downfall vs Birmingham City amid prediction for Sheffield United's visit
Back-to-back defeats suffered by PNE as Birmingham City triumph at Deepdale
Preston North End legend Paul Gallagher expects an injection of creativity for Friday’s visit of Sheffield United.
The former PNE man oversaw Tuesday night’s frustrating 0-1 defeat to Birmingham City for BBC Lancashire. Phil Neumann scored the only goal of the game on 33 minutes, in controversial fashion.
That, and turned down penalty appeals aside, Gallagher felt the Lilywhites were not at their best on the night. As soon as Chris Davies’ side hit the front, the ex-Leicester City midfielder felt the pattern of the game was set.
"Yeah, very frustrating," said Gallagher, in his post-match assessment. "I thought the first half was pretty even in terms of both teams having a bit of possession and nothing, really, happening in both goalmouths.
“I always thought the first goal was going to be really important and unfortunately for Preston North End, it was Birmingham City who got it from a set-play. All Birmingham then do is sit in and say to Preston, 'Come on, can you break us down?'. I think you could always see the commitment was there.
“The atmosphere in the stadium merited that; I thought the fans were excellent, with them right until the final whistle trying to get that ball across the line. Preston had numerous crosses into the box... I just thought the weight of the cross, pass, or timing of the run wasn't there tonight.
“That little bit of creativity was missing to just get that final pass or final finish. Daniel Jebbison had a massive opportunity at one-nil down. He gets round (James Beadle) and there is a defender on the line, but he should do a lot better. That just summed Preston's night up.
“I thought they huffed and puffed but with no real quality. I think the subs coming on tried to make a real impact, especially Thierry Small down that left. A lot of crosses were coming from deep; as soon as Small came on he started to drive to the byline and put different types of crosses in.
“Alfie Devine came on, got opportunities to play one-twos around the box, but I thought Preston were already in that state of mind where they were playing a bit longer and more direct to Smith and Jebbison. Then, they tried to change it with half-an-hour to go try and get people in the pockets.
“I think he (Paul Heckingbottom) will have learned that, at home, he needs to play his more creative players. Teams come, get that first goal, sit in and it's up to Preston to break them down. Tonight, they couldn't. They've had a real good record at home and they will want to get back to winning ways as quickly as possible.
“It's two on the bounce they've lost. Performances have been OK - West Brom was probably better than tonight - but he will want his team to get back on the front foot and get another three points, especially at home. I think his creative players will be back in."
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