After an exciting match at Deepdale, Preston North End’s dramatic injury-time equalizer against promotion-chasing Southampton left them astonished.
Though it’s fair to say that Ryan Lowe’s squad had the superior play, the Saints possessed the majority of the ball and remained in the game at all times. Something Brad Potts, the full-back, was all too familiar with.
In late grief
Soon after halftime, the right-back’s goal gave Preston a 2-1 lead—it was his second in a four-minute sequence. It appeared like the right-back would win the game.
To concede late on was a heartbreaker as Preston could’ve gone clear into third place on a night when Leeds United lost. So when Potts was talking to the press after the game you could see both his anguish and tiredness, after his super display.
Reported by the Lancashire Post, he said. “To concede so late is just so disappointing. I think set plays are our bread and butter – we usually deal with them so well. It is literally the last kick of the game and so annoying because we played really well tonight – especially in the second half.
“To come from one-nil down and be in a winning position, it is just so frustrating to not come away with the three points. I think them bringing their goalkeeper up maybe confused it a little bit, because there was an extra body in there.”
With North End so close to snapping a five-game run without a win, this was even more heartbreaking.
“We’ve got to defend it better. There is nothing more to say because we’re just disappointed. We’ve got to take the positives from the game. Second half was brilliant and we need to take that into the game against Hull on Saturday.
“We cannot just let a last-minute goal ruin everything going forward. We were 30 seconds away from getting three points away from a team who were in the Premier League last season.”
Writer’s Opinion
It is surprising that Preston is still in fourth place considering that they haven’t won a game in six. If the season had just started, they would be discussing relegation rather than promotion. Not that it’s being discussed right now. More opportunities lost. They have Hull City, Blackburn Rovers, and Coventry City up next, so they need to start winning again quickly to avoid falling further down the standings in what is expected to be a really tight playoff chase.
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