Preston North End player ratings vs Birmingham City with one 7/10 and some 5.5/10s
Back-to-back defeats for PNE as Birmingham take all three points
Preston North End fell to their first home defeat of the season as Birmingham City ran out 0-1 winners at Deepdale.
The visitors hit the front just after the half-hour mark when a controversially awarded free-kick was converted by Blues defender Phil Neumann - the German defender using his upper-arm to guide the ball past PNE goalkeeper Daniel Iversen.
North End huffed and puffed but were unable to find a way through, with the clearest opportunity falling to loan striker Daniel Jebbison. Late in the day, Preston saw a flurry of penalty appeals waved away by referee Lewis Smith.
Here are our player ratings from Deepdale.
Starting XI
Daniel Iversen: Didn’t have much to do in the way of shot stopping. Beaten by a fairly point blank effort. Created a late chance with an excellent kick. 6
Jordan Storey: Saw a first half header held. Got into some crossing positions but his delivery was very hit and miss. 6
Lewis Gibson: Was alert to most things and showed composure in possession. 7
Andrew Hughes: One slip up in the first half which he got away with. Got forward and put some crosses in. 6.5
Odel Offiah: Started on the front foot with some driving runs. Displayed strong recovery pace when he needed to. Lacked impact going forward as the game wore on. 6.5
Andrija Vukcevic: Some positive early runs on the outside before crossing. Wasn’t able to really maintain that threat. 6
Ben Whiteman: Saw plenty of the ball in midfield and passed well, while winning the ball back. His crosses were hot and cold. 6.5
Ali McCann: Won his tackles and kept the ball moving without really hurting Birmingham. Got through an hour. 6
Harrison Armstrong: Always wanted the ball and tried to make powerful runs forward to hurt Birmingham. 6.5
Michael Smith: Was the target PNE constantly looked for. Never got that golden chance and had mixed fortunes linking the game. 5.5
Daniel Jebbison: Worked hard but a frustrating night in terms of end product. Robbed Beadle in the second half and drove inside, but saw his shot blocked with the goalkeeper out of the picture. 5.5
Substitutes
Alfie Devine: Saw an early snapshot charged down. Looked to get on the ball in and around the box. 6
Thierry Small: Made an impact after coming on with a cross and shot. Birmingham then got to grips with him. His crosses were hit and miss too. 6
Milutin Osmajic: Got hold of the ball once or twice but a chance never came his way. Wasn’t on the pitch for long. 6
Lewis Dobbin: Saw a volleyed effort saved from close range and a penalty shout turned down late in the day. 6