'There's no way' - What Paul Heckingbottom said straight after Preston North End's 1-1 draw with Stoke City

Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom admitted his side didn’t deserve to beat Stoke City on Saturday afternoon.

It finished 1-1 at Deepdale, with Kaine Kesler-Hayden’s deflected strike sending the Lilywhites in at the break with the lead. But, Mark Robins’ side were the stronger in the second half and equalised from the penalty spot on 74 minutes.

Liam Lindsay was penalised for bringing Ali Al-Hamadi down and up stepped Lewis Baker, to drill the ball underneath Dai Cornell from 12 yards. Heckingbottom felt referee Farai Hallam got that decision wrong but ultimately, had little complaints with the result given PNE’s display.

Post-match, he said: “Yeah listen, take the point in the end. I don't think it's a penalty, really soft, so disappointed we haven't got three points. But, I don't think the performance deserved three. Start of the second half, they got on top. I felt they won all the duels and we're going to face teams like that - they're fighting to stay in the league. That's what our game's are going to be... Cardiff, Plymouth, Hull, that's what we're going to face.

“So, yeah, really disappointed with that spell of the game and we weren't good enough with the ball then to take the sting out of it. That's a recipe for coming second best, and I felt in that spell we were, definitely. I was happy enough with the first half, but felt we still could have been better. We were certainly better with the ball first half, but even then I would still say I expect us to be better, and we need to be better. Just the start of the second half, it was the exact opposite of the message we left them with.

“We lost control of the game. The work rate was there because we had to stand up to it. We had to defend the box because they were throwing all the balls into our box. But that shouldn't have been the case and that's why I'm disappointed with the performance. It would have been something to really praise (if we’d won) because there were moments where we defended the box really well. But I don't want the games to look like that.

“There's no way we're limping over the line. I've seen that as well in the last two seasons. I've just said that to players: ‘No way, you can't limp over’. Anyone who's happy with being 14th in the league probably shouldn't be here. It's clear, we'll make it clear what needs to be better and what needs to be done. I've said it before, if we've got that side of the game right and you get beat, I'm not bothered. We're better with the ball than we've shown today. Our players are better than that, all over the place. That's what we need to show.”

“He’s been practicing that position.”

It was a first goal for Aston Villa loan man Kesler-Hayden, who was picked out by fellow loanee Sam Greenwood. The wing-back cut inside on to his left foot and saw his tame effort deflect past Stoke goalkeeper Viktor Johansson.

On the goal, Heckingbottom said: “Yeah, about time! I've not seen his first touch back but we were right behind it and he's been practicing that position: touch right foot, trying to hit the bottom corner. But yeah, I don't know if it's just instinct or he felt - I couldn't see quite where the left back was - that the left back was covering that space. But he dragged it inside and then managed to get the goal. So yeah, pleased for him and hopefully, he can get a couple more before the end of the season.”

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