Preston North End vs Hull City. Sky Bet Championship.
DeepdaleAttendance12,342.
Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash at Deepdale
Saturday 22 February 2020 19:18, UK
Alan Browne's headed winner kept Preston in the Championship play-off spots after coming from behind to defeat Hull 2-1 at Deepdale on Saturday.
Mallik Wilks gave Hull the lead just before half-time but Paul Gallagher's penalty levelled matters before Browne had the final say.
Hull had the wind and the better of the first half but despite their start, they did not have a shot on target until Wilks fired a left-footed effort at Declan Rudd.
Then Wilks fired well over the crossbar when he was perfectly teed up by Josh Magennis before a neat bit of skill saw him ease past Ben Pearson but fire at Rudd's feet.
At the other end, Gallagher sent a perfect inswinging cross onto the head of Sean Maguire, who glanced wide.
Preston's best chance of the first half fell to Tom Barkhuizen. His header from Maguire's cross was well saved by Long and the Preston attacker fired the rebound over.
While North End grew into the first half in an attacking sense, their back line fell asleep just before the break.
A short corner routine, one that Hull had already tried before, ended with Callum Elder crossing for Wilks to nod in from close range.
While the home crowd expected a reaction after the break it was Wilks again for Hull providing the magic. His clipped cross to the far post was nodded across the face of goal by Magennis.
That sparked a reaction from the home team. Darnell Fisher snuck round the back and laid a ball across the six-yard box for Maguire, who diverted his close-range effort on target only to be denied by a stunning goal-line clearance by Reece Burke.
Fisher would be involved in a key piece of action moments later. From the very first whistle, he and Magennis had a titanic battle. Fisher came out on the right side of it just after the hour when the Hull man clumsily brought him down in the area.
The referee pointed to the spot and Gallagher powered the spot-kick home.
Seconds earlier Hull had been lucky to get away with another penalty shout as Jordy De Wijs looked to have brought down Browne.
The home side looked a different team and were soon ahead. Jayden Stockley crossed for Browne who headed the ball back the way it had come from and past Long.
In an inspired change on the hour, Alex Neil had introduced both Stockley and Browne to the game in an attempt to swing the momentum.
In the closing stages, it was the home side who pushed to extend their lead, with Pearson and Gallagher sending efforts just wide.
But the one-goal advantage turned out to be enough for the home side, who condemned The Tigers to defeat and left them winless since New Year's Day.
Preston's Alex Neil: "I don't think we're as bad as people were suggesting in the first half. I think we lacked a bit of bravery and I didn't think we got the ball out (wide) enough. I think when we did move it, we moved it too slowly. I don't think the conditions helped, but for us, and I said this to the players at half-time. If we want to move up the table and if you watch Fulham, Brentford or any of the top teams like the West Broms, they go and outplay teams.
"We need to go and move the ball. If we resort to just banging the ball forward and hopefully playing in their half, it isn't going to be enough. Alan's (Browne) goal is what Alan has done for us the last two years that he has been here. It's a sensational goal, and what I'll say about Jayden (Stockley) is that technically for a big man, he is a very good player. He's shifted the ball to his left, clipped a great ball in and Alan does what Alan does."
Hull's Grant McCann: "For large periods it was a good away performance, it was probably the best we've played for a while in terms of overall performance. Preston ramped it up a bit, made a couple of substitutions and injected a bit of energy into the game. The first goal is shocking really, it is a mistake by the referee. I thought Fisher's gone down very easily if you watch it back.
"We knew that leading into this game Preston had the most penalties in the league and it seems they always happen at this end. I think he has got sucked into the first one that wasn't a penalty, and the next one he's going to give it. We were defending well and dealing with things, but the second goal is not good enough from us. We spoke at half-time about the balls coming into our box and the distances between the back four. That's avoidable, we should have defended that."
