Stoke City vs Preston North End. Sky Bet Championship.
Bet365 StadiumAttendance20,034.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Stoke City and Preston at the bet365 Stadium as Ched Evans scored in stoppage-time to seal victory for North End on Monday.
Monday 2 January 2023 18:53, UK
Ched Evans' last-gasp header earned Preston a 1-0 victory at Stoke as they ended their three-match losing streak.
A fixture which was delayed by 15 minutes due to nearby traffic was low on quality and looked destined to finish goalless until Evans struck.
Stoke boss Alex Neil, hosting his former employers, fell to a second successive defeat, his side having recorded only one win from their last seven matches on home soil.
The visitors were indebted to their top-scorer Evans, who rose highest and nodded in a late winner deep into added time.
A first sight at goal arrived for Stoke after 10 minutes when Harry Clarke dispossessed Alvaro Fernandez and teed up Jacob Brown in a dangerous position.
However, the Scotland international struggled to find the power and accuracy to trouble goalkeeper Freddie Woodman.
Stoke, who had suffered a narrow defeat at home to Burnley less than 72 hours earlier, were on the front foot.
Jordan Thompson blasted an effort over the bar, while a busy Brown failed to convert a Will Smallbone cut-back as the hosts' momentum grew.
Preston, who had failed to register a clean sheet in six games heading into the fixture, looked fragile defensively and were fortunate not to concede before the interval.
Another quick Stoke counter-attack saw a threatening Josh Tymon cut-back miscued by both Tyrese Campbell and his lively strike partner Brown.
The hosts twice came close to snatching a deserved lead moments before half-time, but both times Woodman rescued Preston.
He first did well to save Campbell's precise header before stopping a Brown strike from close range that took an awkward deflection.
Both sides returned for the restart desperate for improvement but struggled to create clear goal-scoring opportunities.
The visitors gradually improved, but it was Stoke who again came close, this time through Liam Delap in the six-yard box, but the Manchester City loanee could not add the finishing touch.
That miss was then nearly immediately punished at the opposite end in front of the 1,606 travelling fans.
As Ben Wilmot misjudged a bouncing ball, Ben Woodburn raced through and volleyed a fierce effort goalwards, but Jack Bonham saved.
However, the Potters keeper was beaten in added time as Evans, who turned 34 last week, notched his sixth goal of the season with an accurate flick-on to snatch a scarcely-deserved win for Preston.
Preston's Ryan Lowe: "It was all about character today. We've had a tough two weeks and I thought we were fantastic in everything we did. We've had injuries, some bad luck and sometimes you need that bit of resilience. I told the group that tough times don't last, tough people do. We've got that in abundance. Everyone knows their jobs and, when they stick to them, we are a good team. We had the fire in our belly to keep going and get the goal - it's a great header from Ched.
"When you have people like him who'll run the hard yards for you, it sets examples and he epitomises the group. Sometimes we can't play pretty football or the brand we want, but the resilience and character shown - Ched leads from the front with that.
"We shouldn't be competing with Stoke City - they're bigger and better and they shouldn't be where they are. For us, to come to these tough places, put in a performance like that and win, it's pleasing for me to see. We cannot get too carried away, so we'll stay level-headed and make sure we keep going about our business and trying to win games."
Stoke's Alex Neil: "I'm disappointed that we lost a game that we shouldn't have lost. You could feel it coming. We had two great chances in the first half and a chance in the second half, but we miss them. Preston are the type of team who don't give chances away, so when you've got three really clear ones, you've got to take them.
"When you don't, you always leave yourself open to smash-and-grab and that's what happened. Teams find a way and find a way to lose, and at the moment we're finding a way to lose. It's fixable, but it's not fixable overnight, I've not got a magic wand. I understand the fans' response. I've got no issues with that, but it doesn't help the team. When you lose, nobody cares and doesn't want to hear what I have to say.
"Inspiration comes from within, we're in a competitive sport at a high level, so we can't feel sorry for ourselves. We have got to make it happen for ourselves. We didn't get outplayed today, we got done in the 93rd minute with a set-play, so I'm not having that Preston rocked up and were better than us today."
