Grateful Neil lauds his players
PRESTON boss Alex Neil praised his players’ fighting spirit as they came from two behind to beat Lancashire rivals Blackburn at Deepdale.
The defeat increases Rovers’ winless run to five games in all competitions, but a fantastic second-half comeback from Preston maintains their unbeaten home record in the Championship.
Neil admitted he got his tactics wrong in the first half, saying: “We have shown real fight today, in what was always going to be a difficult game.
“Derby matches are always tough, and full credit to Blackburn, they made it into a derby game right from the kick off.
“Initially, we did not cope with their aggressive style, and that caused us problems and led to us conceding early.
“Our tactics from the first half were not working. So I had to put my pride to one side, and change things around. I have to praise the players for how they reacted, and their response was emphatic”.
Tony Mowbray’s side flew out of the blocks, with two goals inside the first 10 minutes, thanks to a own goal from Declan Rudd and a Sam Gallagher strike.
However their neighbours responded with a spirited second-half display, as two goals from Tom Barkhuizen and a Daniel Johnson penalty secured a thrilling comefrom-behind success.
Sam Gallagher was on the ball right from kick off, as he put Rovers in front inside the first 40 seconds, bundling a header over the line off Rudd from Adam Armstrong’s cross.
The visitors showed their ruthless side again after 10 minutes. Bradley Dack found himself in space on the edge of the box, and he fed in Gallagher for his second goal from 15 yards.
Neil’s side did look to rouse themselves before the break, but an alert stop by Rovers goalkeeper Christian Walton from Barkhuizen preserved their two-goal lead at the interval.
The hosts were a different side in the second half, going straight onto the front foot, as Alan Browne’s long-range effort forced another save from Walton just after the restart.
Darnell Fisher did well to create an angle to cross in from the right, and Sean Maguire cushioned a header down for Barkhuizen to slam home.
Preston had their tails up from there on, as Walton was called into action to tip away Jayden Stockley’s attempt.
But there was little he could do about the equaliser, as Johnson slotted home from the spot after a foul on Browne by Elliott Bennett.
The writing was on the wall for the struggling visitors from there, as the home fans drove Neil’s side on for the win.
And it was to be Barkhuizen that eventually sealed the comeback with eight minutes to go, firing at a tight angle.
Mowbray said: “Today was an example of a game of two very different halves.
“After the break, we had no luck, as Preston looked to play higher up the pitch.
“We found that difficult to deal with, and the referee has made it difficult for us.”