Preston North End vs Huddersfield Town. Sky Bet Championship.
Deepdale.
Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Preston and Huddersfield at Deepdale
Saturday 27 February 2021 18:52, UK
Preston returned to winning ways with a 3-0 victory over relegation-threatened Huddersfield, but the Terriers will be wondering how they ended up with nothing from the match.
Brad Potts edged the hosts ahead midway through the first half before Ched Evans put them in the driving seat after 67 minutes.
Scott Sinclair made the points safe with 10 minutes to go with an emphatic first-time finish as North End claimed their first win in four games.
But Huddersfield, who have now lost four of their last five matches, will feel they deserved something from the trip to Deepdale.
The Yorkshiremen turned in a dominant first-half display and were left frustrated by home keeper Daniel Iversen on several occasions.
But Town's spirits dropped after falling behind, allowing Preston to take charge after the break.
Isaac Mbenza scuffed a shot straight at Iversen after four minutes as the visitors started brightest.
Iversen had to be much more alert a minute later when he tipped over a powerful Mbenza shot from the edge of the box.
The Preston keeper was in action again when he got down well to keep out Pipa's low effort after 13 minutes.
Alan Browne blazed over from distance two minutes later as the hosts tried to get into the game.
Huddersfield had strong shouts for a penalty waved away when Fraizer Campbell went down under a challenge from Andrew Hughes before Iversen saved Lewis O'Brien's low shot as Town continued to boss things.
But they were hit with a big sucker-punch in the 23rd minute when Potts scored with a half-volley after Ryan Schofield had initially saved from Sinclair.
Huddersfield pushed for an equaliser and Mbenza had a 25-yard free-kick palmed away by Iversen before Anthony Gordon curled over for Preston.
Juninho Bacuna failed to get hold of a shot from distance after the ball dropped kindly four minutes before the break.
Huddersfield switched to a 4-4-2 formation after Kieran Phillips replaced Duane Holmes 10 minutes after the restart.
Potts failed to trouble Schofield with a long-range effort following a slow start to the half, but the midfielder was inches away from his second goal moments later when he rattled the crossbar with a dipping shot.
Potts shot weakly at Schofield before North End failed to make the most of a four-on-three counter-attack after a wasteful pass by Sinclair.
But the good spell of pressure paid off when Evans slotted home after Browne's perfect first-time pass picked him out.
Preston added another in the 80th minute when Sinclair hammered home after a flowing move involving Evans and Tom Barkhuizen opened up the visitors.
Iversen tipped over a Bacuna effort after 83 minutes as the visitors looked for a consolation goal that never came.
Preston boss Alex Neil: "We got ourselves ahead which we don't normally do. That is something we have spoken about. The lads were very strong in the second half. It is a case of taking your chances, we did that and it made the difference.
"We played better the other night (against QPR) over the 90 mins than we did in this game. The biggest difference was we were clinical."
Huddersfield boss Carlos Corberan: "Football is not about how many chances you create it is about how many chances you take.
"We did not make the most of those chances. Preston used their opportunities well and they were much better than us in that area."
