Championship
Preston North End 0-0 West Bromwich Albion
Saturday October 3, Deepdale, Att: 11,180
Championship high-flyers Preston and West Brom cancelled one another out in a tight contest at Deepdale as both teams bounced back from defeat in midweek.
Albion, who had gone down 3-1 at Barnsley in their previous game, started brightly in the Saturday lunchtime kick-off, and had the best chance of the first half.
A swift counter-attack released Graham Dorrans, and after turning North End's Youl Mawene inside out, his shot was deflected onto the post by the foot of 'keeper Andy Lonergan, and Roman Bednar failed to convert the rebound.
The Baggies felt they could have had a penalty when Chris Brunt appeared to be bundled to the floor as he attempted to connect with Joe Mattock's left wing cross. However, referee Anthony Bates was quick to waive away their appeals.
The home side's best opportunity of the first half came in stoppage time. Brunt's clumsy foul on Chris Sedgwick on the left wing producing a free-kick for Ross Wallace from which Billy Jones glanced a header just wide.
As has often been the case this season, Alan Irvine's side began to grow as the match wore on. Neil Mellor's shot from outside the box forcing Scott Carson into action in the Albion goal.
Preston continued to press and a Wallace corner found an unmarked Jones, whose goalbound header was deflected over by a Baggies defender. Then Mellor went close with a header from another Wallace free-kick that just flashed wide.
The visitors hit back, with the lively Dorrans forcing Lonergan into a smart stop at his near post, pushing a rising drive out for a corner.
And Roberto Di Matteo's men thought they'd won it right at the death but Lonergan managed to claw out a Dorrans header destined for the bottom corner as both sides had to settle for a point.
No comments:
Post a Comment