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Post by terryb on Dec 7, 2019 15:27:21 GMT
Once again, I'm forced to miss going "down the bush" & having to watch Geoff Stelling!
Anyhow, it's time for the ref to blow that final whistle! 1-0 with Eze scoring his eighth of the season after what Kamara described as a flowing move between Manning, Wells, Cameron & Eze.
COME ON MY TEAM!
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Post by londonranger on Dec 7, 2019 16:04:14 GMT
Eze does it.
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Post by terryb on Dec 7, 2019 16:28:44 GMT
Now nine goals for the season!
That is penalty number four he has converted for us!
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Post by londonranger on Dec 7, 2019 16:31:18 GMT
Eze does it again as Terry says with a penalty URrrrrrrrrrrrrrssssssssssssss! 2-0 Rs at 67 mins.
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Post by londonranger on Dec 7, 2019 16:44:22 GMT
82 mins still 2-1 fingers crossed for first clean sheet of the season.
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Post by vofster on Dec 7, 2019 16:56:53 GMT
And finally - in December - a clean sheet!!!!!
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Post by londonranger on Dec 7, 2019 16:57:50 GMT
Our first clean sheet and a 2-nil win on Pearl Harbor Day, A Day of Infamy.
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Post by kenthoop on Dec 7, 2019 16:57:51 GMT
1st clean sheet Uŕrrrrrrrrs
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Post by nomar on Dec 7, 2019 16:58:00 GMT
Yay, a clean sheet!!
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Post by harr on Dec 7, 2019 16:59:46 GMT
Woohoo, a win and a clean sheet, super
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Post by blatantfowl on Dec 7, 2019 17:01:52 GMT
Allelujah! A clean sheet!
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Post by Marc on Dec 7, 2019 17:03:44 GMT
A clean sheet, whouda thunk it!!
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Post by terryb on Dec 7, 2019 17:04:19 GMT
After the win at Stoke, Jordan Hugill promised that he would help Eberechi Eze to score ten gaols this season.
Very nearly there son!
WELL DONE MY TEAM!
I do hope that I feel well enough to make the Charlton match!
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Post by surreychad on Dec 7, 2019 17:19:34 GMT
I watched the game online, we deserved the win and everyone played their part. Lumley with a superb save to keep the clean sheet. Osay Samuel needs to play every week and he drives us forward so well.
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Post by Marc on Dec 7, 2019 17:36:59 GMT
Just watched the 2 minute highlights. Eze's 1st was described as on the rebound on the radio but it was so much more, he did very well to control the ball & shoot by which time the keeper was back on his feet & set.
How on earth was Rudd not sent off for the penalty??
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Post by bowranger on Dec 7, 2019 18:33:57 GMT
Just home. We were class today, really, really good.
No real out and out traditional CM im our side and yet, really solid in the middle.
Eze was just magic. Losing things to say about him, really. Bright also had a great game, built on last weekend with a better performance that brimmed with confidence. More turns to compliment his pace. I like how he reeks of a player who's done his time getting kicked up in the air in League One. He's tough, has real strength, doesn't get bullied and won the ball back multiple times too. If he had a better shot and more consistent cross on him, bloody hell. I guess he wouldnt be here if he did.
A mention on Pugh because he was big today. I've barely noticed him in most of his sub appearances so far and it hasn't felt like he has made an impact when he's come on. But he was good today and looked much more like the player we thought we'd signed.
At the back, we looked much safer. We had our traditional incident of the ball being allowed to bounce once between Leistner and Hall, but we dealt with it. Likewise, we had a 5 minute spell where we struggled to play the ball out, but we stood strong.
Leistner won almost everything in the air. Stockley could not live with him and got subbed for his troubles.
In general, we looked a little more pragmatic. We didn't abandon playing it out from the back, but Lumley had clearly been given license to play it long a lot more, to get some confidence back in him. And he capped it off with a superb save at the end to keep the clean sheet.
Those long balls mean Hugill becomes much more important as an out ball. Some quite odd refereeing with him, bringing back memories of big Matt Smith, in terms of being manhandled and rarely getting fouls. He had one given against him with a Preston player almost lifting his shirt over his head, which was...bizarre.
Also on long balls, the sh*thouse in chief Ben Pearson had some new tactics in his locker, where he'd double up on whoever was going to receive a long ball from Lumley, then nudge our player off balance off the ball, then running off before the ref had a chance to notice. He spent 80% of the game following the ref, arguing the toss, as he always does. For all of that, he's a hell of a player at this level and I'd have him here in a second if we could. But one of the absolute best things about winning with something to spare here was not having to see an Alex Neil side squeeze the absolute life out of a game with every trick under the sun.
Four points from two games I'd have happily taken two from. Solid. Finally a clean sheet. Most exciting number 10 in the league. Wonderful.
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Post by rickyqpr on Dec 7, 2019 18:36:29 GMT
Well deserved victory and clean sheet. Few points: No weak links today. Hall and Leistner commanding today in a flat back 4. We played 4-1-3 -2 - so no gaps behind our full backs Eze - simply superb - what a great display - must have added to his value with that performance. Hugill fouled all game but no decisions for him - officials pretty poor yet again. BOS booked for not giving the ball back - is he suspended for Birmingham? He was very good today. When we play like that we look a very good team - and we more or less did it for the full game this time. Lumley looked a good keeper because we did not pass out from the back but instead kicked long - and accurately. He made some very good saves today. Preston as per usual complained to the ref throughout. The penalty complaint went on and on - and no one got booked for it. Ben Pearson so annoying to play against - but would be a great signing for us. We do not have anyone like that in our squad. But, great to see that today and the response from the support at the end was just sooooooo good.
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Post by terryb on Dec 7, 2019 19:54:14 GMT
Thank you bow & ricky.
A great result which I gather was fully deserved. A question please. Did Eze play in tyhe middle of the three with Pigh to ther left or was it the other way round? I realise that it would have been interchangable between them, but there would have been a default position for them.
I watched a little of Preston against West Brom on Sky & noticed that Johnson was the main ref baiter allowing Pearson to have a rest from his preferred position! Perhaps he was saving himself for today!
Very pleased to read that Joe Lumley had a good day.
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Post by rickyqpr on Dec 7, 2019 20:13:47 GMT
Thank you bow & ricky. A great result which I gather was fully deserved. A question please. Did Eze play in tyhe middle of the three with Pigh to ther left or was it the other way round? I realise that it would have been interchangable between them, but there would have been a default position for them. I watched a little of Preston against West Brom on Sky & noticed that Johnson was the main ref baiter allowing Pearson to have a rest from his preferred position! Perhaps he was saving himself for today! Very pleased to read that Joe Lumley had a good day. Hi Terry, it was the sort of team selection that could easily have been criticized because who was supposed to be playing in the middle? But Cameron set up in front of the back 4 (and made the first goal) and Eze played through the middle throughout. Pugh and BOS switched from side to side BOS mainly on the right in the first hald and then mainly on the left in the second half. Eze performed beautifully, some drops of the shoulder leaving defenders for dead, drag backs -Eze really was 'too good for you'. He even tackled back. Love watching him...........
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Post by terryb on Dec 7, 2019 20:20:42 GMT
Thanks ricky.
I'm certainly pleased that Eze had the central position as that is his most natural position & Pugh has played wide for a lot of his career.
BTW, when I watched the Sky highlights I thought it was a decent save by Lumley but not outstanding UNTIL I saw the replay! Well done Joe.
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Post by bowranger on Dec 7, 2019 20:24:51 GMT
Wot Ricky said.
Felt like he dropped a bit deeper than usual too, happy to both fetch and carry when he wanted to. Sometimes stuff he tries doesn't come off, but he always shows calm and game awareness. If he sees gaps and players ahead, a step and a trick and he strides into space. If it looks congested, he collects and heads into traffic just waiting to draw a foul.
Might be wrong but also felt he was on dead ball duty more than usual - took some free kicks and corners that would normally fall to Manning.
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Post by bowranger on Dec 7, 2019 20:25:55 GMT
Thanks ricky. I'm certainly pleased that Eze had the central position as that is his most natural position & Pugh has played wide for a lot of his career. BTW, when I watched the Sky highlights I thought it was a decent save by Lumley but not outstanding UNTIL I saw the replay! Well done Joe. Definitely agree. Looked good at the time, but just a good reaction save. Wasn't til I saw the replay that I realised just how far he had to reach and how quickly he did it.
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Post by sharky on Dec 7, 2019 22:43:56 GMT
Says it all really!
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Post by rickyqpr on Dec 8, 2019 9:13:49 GMT
Games go through phases, they rarely run the same for the 90. How teams adapt to these changes often determines the outcome. I think at times this year, we have been slow to adapt to the opposition's substitutions or formation changes - until it is too late. Yesterday, we tried to start on the front foot and looked very dangerous. But Preston had watched recent games and pressed us high. They were snapping at our heals, often late, in typical Preston style. The ref afforded little protection. We do not like it when teams press us like that. But Lumley stooped playing it out and we went long to Hugill. The outcome of that was that Lumley's confidence grew and Preston had to drop back and relax the high press. Such a simple change and yet a dynamic impact. We played 4 at the back and the team sheet gave no clues to that - it looked like being wing backs. That surprised Preston IMHO. We played Eze down the middle and they did not know what to do with him. He waits for the inevitable foul or just drops the shoulder and runs past them. Hugill remains a puzzle to me. We are a different force with him playing, without him we can not effectively kick long. He tussles with the defenders and takes some real stick. Against his old club, he battled throughout and I accept he backs in, but the officials were astonishing with their decisions yesterday. Hugill is an old fashioned rough and tumble centre forward, but as soon as leans back to shoot, you know that the ball is going to end up way too high. Then the penalty. Looked fair enough from R Block, but the papers today report that the Ref had several players blocking his view. It is said that he told the players that he did not see the offence. He was 'forced' to consult the lino who apparently also said that he did not see it. This is according to Alex Neil. How can that be? If they did not see it, they cannot give it. Why would they say that they had awarded a penalty for an unsighted offence? But the Preston players argued and argued. But the penalty created another phase of play whereby we looked far more secure and saw the game out. If Neil is even half right, a weak set of officials had a big impact again yesterday. But it emphasizes the small margins that change games and generate new phases and outcomes. When you are winning, you win. When on a downer, nothing goes for you. Neil was top of the league and being linked with much bigger jobs. Now 4 straight defeats and cursing the ref for apparently awarding a penalty he did not see. Daft init?
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Post by bowranger on Dec 8, 2019 9:37:46 GMT
Bias accepted, I take that from Neil with a pinch of salt.
Firstly, he's done an amazing job at Preston and they're in a minor slump. He wants to keep up momentum and take pressure off his team and himself. He's got a big vested interest in making this about the ref and not about the hard facts that we did a lot right and they did a lot wrong.
Maybe I'm being harsh but from watching this Preston side under Neil, I find it hard to believe their players would not have behaved like that anyway. They're well drilled in bullying refs and applying pressure. In that situation, they're facing a situation where they're likely to be facing the remainder of that game at 2-0 down. It is in their collective DNA to try and make the rest of the game harder on the ref. Make him doubt himself, make him more likely to give a 50/50 challenge in our box later, have him spend the rest of the game feeling like he perhaps needs to even things up. It's a boy who cries wolf situation - if you argue the toss on every decision against you, even if you're then right to be aggrieved, it loses weight.
Like you say, if the ref and lino havn't seen it, then they shouldn't give it. So why give it? Even from a self-preservation perspective, QPR are 1-0 and don't look under threat. Ignoring a penalty shout when you are not sure is far less risky than giving it. We carry on to win, everyone forgets about it.
The third bit is that even if he is completely right, that the refs made it up out of the goodness of their heart, that Pugh was lying when he appealed, then it still comes back to that first point. Neil is welcome to call it 1-0 instead of 2-0 in his head. The one moment of real danger, Lumley dealt with. We also had chances that Hugill wasted - and I totally agree that, for everything Hugill brings to this side in terms of needle and outball options, he nearly always leans back. It is so strange that he has a really respectable goal scoring record...and yet so rarely looks like scoring!
Bottom line is that Preston lost the key battles. They put Stockley up against Leistner and Hall, and he flunked that test and got subbed. They tried to negate Eze with Pearson, and the latter couldn't live with him. And even on the pen decision, it all spawned from a Preston defender blocking a cross and putting the ball into a dangerous area that forced a 50/50 battle between Pugh and the keeper that Pugh is, 9 times out of 10, either going to get a toe on it first and score, or get cleaned out.
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Post by rickyqpr on Dec 8, 2019 10:38:05 GMT
Ainsworth said on Quest that Ezeis the best player he has ever coached - what a talent.
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Post by rickyqpr on Dec 8, 2019 15:56:08 GMT
Paul Huntington says penalty shouts at either end cost Preston North End dear at QPR Paul Huntington and Alan Browne question referee Andy Davies' penalty decision TOM SANDELLS Published: 14:00 Sunday 08 December 2019 Paul Huntington wants consistency from Championship referees in the wake of another controversial penalty decision in PNE’s 2-0 loss against Queens Park Rangers. As in Monday’s last-gasp defeat by West Bromwich, Declan Rudd was adjudged to have committed a foul – on Rangers’ Marc Pugh – and again communication from match officials has been called into question. Against the Baggies, Kyle Edwards went down easily to win a spot-kick and, in the aftermath of the decision, referee Oliver Langford said nothing. On Saturday, ref Andy Davies told Huntington he was not even sure of the decision he had made, which ultimately killed off North End’s hopes of mounting a comeback. Davies also turned down PNE’s claims for a penalty of their own. “As soon as he said he wasn’t sure, I don’t think he can give it,” Huntington said. “The linesman’s said he hasn’t seen it. Dec was saying that he’s kicked it off him and it’s gone out for a corner or its ricocheted and it’s gone out for a goalkick, one of the two. “As soon as he’s gone to speak to him I thought it was going to be resolved. It was a bit more of a shock than anything. “It was an easy one to even it up with Billy Bodin – he gets sandwiched then he gets nudged in the back. “I don’t think they’d have had too many complaints. “We’d have then been pushing for the equaliser. “Being totally honest, and I said that at the end of the game, it is an easy one to even it up with – not that that’s the referee’s job, but if you give that one, it’s a bit like the other one. We’ve had two of those in the last two games. You just want that consistency. “We have had a lot of penalties this year but I genuinely think if I was a neutral, I think we’ve had nine and nine of them have been penalties. “It’s a hard one to take because I felt as though away from home, the longer you stay in the game, they get edgy. “Jordan Hugill was saying to me, ‘Second half we’ll start dropping off, we’ll get nervy’ because they haven’t been keeping clean sheets. “In the first half, we weren’t great. You can tell we have a number of key players out. “As we were growing into it I felt like we were getting a bit more of the ball. “We got a penalty given against us – the referee said he didn’t know, went to speak to the linesman, who said, ‘I don’t have a great view of it, it’s on you’. “That comes at a pretty bad time for us. “We were getting on the ball a bit more. I thought David Nugent did well when he came on. “It was frustrating because I don’t think there was a lot in the game. #They’d had the shot in the first half, Sean Maguire’s gone through one on one, he’s kind of stumbled as he’s hit it and the keeper’s made a www.lep.co.uk/sport/football/preston-north-end/pne-news/paul-huntington-says-penalty-shouts-at-either-end-cost-preston-north-end-dear-at-qpr-1-10143647
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Post by rickyqpr on Dec 9, 2019 11:07:01 GMT
Ben Pearson on QPR - Thanks Ben! 'but to be honest I don’t think they played well in particular, I don’t think they were anything special,” www.deepdaledigest.com/news/ben-pearson-highlights-prestons-main-problem-right-now-gives-verdict-on-qpr/Ben Pearson highlights Preston's main problem right now, gives verdict on QPR After such a great start, it’s all going a bit wrong for Preston now. Since the international break in November, North End have played four and lost four. They’ve conceded eight goals, and scored none. They’ve dropped from second in the table to seventh, and now sit 12 points off the top two. It was always going to be hard to sustain an automatic promotion push, but a run like this wasn’t expected. Of course, as is often the case with Preston, injuries have hit hard. Alex Neil has been forced to use a threadbare squad lately, and that has contributed to these poor results, but there is a huge problem emerging at the top end of the pitch; where injuries haven’t hit quite as hard. Yes, playmakers Daniel Johnson and Paul Gallagher have been missed, but no goals in four games is such a downturn in form. North End were the Championship’s top scorers before the international break, but now haven’t found the net since Gallagher’s 50th minute penalty a month ago. Now, midfielder Ben Pearson has admitted that it’s a real problem for Preston, which was again highlighted against QPR – but Pearson wasn’t all that impressed by QPR either. Pearson suggested to the Preston official website that they weren’t anything special, and North End will hope that the likes of Seani Maguire and Tom Barkhuizen can get their form back soon to help win these tight matches against the likes of QPR. “I think it’s a problem at the minute not scoring goals, but to be honest I don’t think they played well in particular, I don’t think they were anything special,” said Pearson, before blaming himself for the first goal. “I think that the first goal’s partly my fault, I think I’ve got to track the runner better, and also we were wide open at the same time so it’s never good to get off to a start like that. The penalty is a sucker punch and it’s hard work when you go 2-0 down with probably 15 minutes to go,” he added.
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Post by Ashdown_Ranger on Dec 9, 2019 13:02:48 GMT
"I don’t think they [QPR] played well in particular, I don’t think they were anything special...” Which kind makes his performance all the worse.. “I think that the first goal’s partly my fault, I think I’ve got to track the runner better..." What a tw*t.
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Post by rickyqpr on Dec 9, 2019 15:29:41 GMT
Yep, hard to like Preston and the way they play / complain / get results. But the quotes that others have highlighted stood out to me as well and why I posted them up. So the conclusion is that: QPR are nothing special - Preston are far better Preston had some injuries and cannot be expected to have any squad depth Pearson was only partly to blame for completely losing Eze - so Eze must have fouled him to gain an advantage - or perhaps cheated by running fast The officials confessed to be totally incompetent and were guilty of awarding a penalty that they blatantly never saw Our on loan striker discovered he had a conflict of interest and tried to even things up by handing out advice to his old team. Preston players in defeat need to talk to the media to explain why they have been unfairly treated and been beaten by matters outside of their control.
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