Stoke City 0-0 Preston North End: Goalless in Staffordshire but impressive run continues
Paul Heckingbottom’s side frustrated again versus another strong starter. Here’s our report.
Preston North End continued their unbeaten run at the bet365 Stadium but they and Stoke City had to settle for a goalless draw on Boxing Day.
It was an attritional game on a cold afternoon which wasn’t short on fouls and strong defensive work, but meaningful attacks were in short supply as the visitors made do with a share of the spoils and retained their place in the Championship’s top six.
North End had their first chance within the opening 30 seconds. After some decent play across the back line, the ball was swung into the home box and half-cleared to Harrison Armstrong 20 yards from goal. The Everton loanee took aim and fired goalwards, only for his effort to graze the crossbar.
The pitch really opened up for PNE on several occasions, the first being on six minutes when, after bursting down the right, Pol Valentin found Daniel Jebbison in the box.
He could have taken a shot on but opted instead to switch play to Thierry Small, but his effort at Viktor Johansson’s near stick was well saved by the Swede.
The Potters went close on the half-hour mark as a Bosun Lawal cross found Sorba Thomas at a tight angle. Yet the winger could only volley into the side netting and failed to trouble PNE keeper Daniel Iversen.
North End then had a great chance to break the deadlock with three minutes left to play in the first half.
Armstrong went down in the box under a challenge from Tatsuki Seko while trying to pick out a team-mate. Play was kept alive, however, by Michael Smith, Jordan Storey, Ben Whiteman and then Small as the pressure was applied. The number 26 then twisted and turned on the edge of the box, but his effort only landed at the outstretched palms of Johansson.
Storey connected with Whiteman’s free-kick 10 minutes after the second-half restarted, but his bullet-like header was once again kept out by the alert Stoke ‘keeper.
Divin Mubama saw an effort go wide before two great pieces of defending by PNE - Small expertly dispossessed Lawal just as he was about to fire at goal, before Odeluga Offiah diverted substitute Ben Gibson’s audacious strike away from goal with a flicked header.
Iversen had enjoyed another quiet game in-between the posts up until the 75th minute. But he was called into action as the game neared its end - first when routinely saving from a skewed Jun-Ho effort, before he then needed to be at full stretch to deny Thomas a stunning, curling opener.
Whiteman forced another strong Johansson save with one minute of regular time remaining.
North End stay in fifth but results around them have weakened their security in the top six.
Preston North End: Iversen, Offiah, Storey, Hughes, Valentin, McCann (Thompson 67’), Whiteman, Armstrong (Devine 72’), Small (Lewis 82), Smith, Jebbison (Frokjaer 72’). PNE unused subs: Walton, Lindsay, Potts, Mawene, Keane.
Attendance: 26,314.