Match Day Thread PNE v Wolverhampton Wanderers Deepdale 17/2/2018

Well they don't get much tougher than our next two matches against the Midlands finest in Wolves and the Villa. First up Wanderers at Deepdale in what probably is the game of the season at our gaff.
Runaway leaders who have both feet almost in the Premier League having laid waste to most of the Championship sides this season, 12 points clear of Villa would need a total loss of form in the next 15 games to stop them going up.
They have paid some decent money for players this season but then again if you get 30,000 per home game and have wealthy overseas backers does make life easier, they have a rather tasty front line who will catch anyone on the break, Coster, Cavaleiro, Jota not forgeting Bonatini who scored twice against us in the return fixture, however it is Barry Douglas who has impressed me the most looks a very good player and is dangerous around the box with free kicks.
Bret Wolves fans are still hankering for Paul Lambert to return.
Personal view free game for us not expected to get anything from it lets have a go lke we did down there caused them problems and could so easily have got something from the game.
One thing to watch if they are not on top watch the staff and players start to complain about every 50/50 tackle they don't get worked a treat down there as Steve Martin bought it fully.
No Cunningham or Pearson both suspended, left back is the one position were he has choice with either Earl or Woods. Need to be at our best on Saturday. Wanderers sold out their allocation of 5600 so one end of the ground will be loud let's hope some of our part timers can get of their arses and make their way to Deepdale for what should be a very decent game.




Stat Attack: Wolverhampton Wanderers

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One of the oldest rivalries in league football is continued today as we welcome Wolverhampton Wanderers to Deepdale for the 58th time in the EFL.

Our shared history includes facing each other at every level of the league, as well as the 1889 FA Cup Final which we won 3-0 to complete the double.

Overall, league honours have been largely in our favour here, with 28 wins to 14 defeats, but 15 draws means Wolves have a decent record to defend today.

Twenty-one of our home victories came in the first 29 meetings and since the resumption of football in 1946, results have been much more even, with eight wins and ten defeats for North End.
We have only ever had two 5-4 victories at home in the league and both of these came against Wolves, in 1928 and again two years later. We have scored five goals on a further four occasions, whilst Wolves’ most recent win here in 2008 matched their highest winning margin of 3-1 which they have achieved four times.

One of the most notable games in our recent shared history was the thrilling 3-3 draw on the final day of the 1988/89 season. Wolves were celebrating successive championships and recovered from Tony Ellis’s 22nd minute opener to establish a 3-1 lead. The introduction of Tony Philliskirk saw North End on all-out attack and two goals in the final two minutes, from Ellis and Mark Patterson, saw honours shared in an exciting end to the campaign.

Leon and Nicky Clarke, Craig Davies, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Neill Collins are all players who have passed briefly through the doors of Deepdale and Molineux.

On This Date
It is ten years since we last played a home game on this date and the TV cameras were here to see us lose 1-0 to then Premier League Portmouth in the FA Cup Fifth Round, thanks to an unfortunate last minute deflection by Darren Carter and a David James penalty save from Simon Whaley – Pompey going on to win the Cup Final that season.

Two former players, one from the 60s and one from the 70s, were born on this date in 1944, Frank Lee and Neil Young.
Right winger Frank made his debut in 1964 having come through the youth ranks and played 171 times before moving to Southport in 1970.

Neil had scored the only goal in Manchester City’s 1-0 defeat of Leicester in the 1969 FA Cup final and joined us three years later in a joint deal with Dave Connor. 72 games and 17 goals followed in the next two years before a brief spell with Rochdale ended his league career.

1932 found us playing a second division fixture in Bradford but not at Valley Parade; instead we were making one of our ten visits to the Park Avenue home of Bradford City’s rivals Bradford Park Avenue. We recorded a 5-1 win that day at a ground we only managed to win at three times in all. Although now derelict, the Park Avenue ground is still in existence today, despite the football club falling out of the Football League in the 1970s and disappearing completely a few years later.

It was one of a few venues to be shared by football and cricket clubs, although each had their own separate playing area although there was a double sided stand that faced both the football field and the cricket ground. Headingley has a similar arrangement between the cricket and rugby clubs.

Last Five Games At Deepdale
Preston North End 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0, 19th November 2016
Preston North End 1 (Johnson) Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 (McDonald), 26th September 2015
Preston North End 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0, 3rd August 2013
Preston North End 1 (Mellor (pen)) Wolverhampton Wanderers 3 (Iwelumo, 3 (1 pen)), 20th September 2008
Preston North End 2 (Davidson (pen), Whaley) Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 (Keogh), 11th March 2008

Ref Watch: Wolverhampton Wanderers luckily it's not that twat Trevor Kettle

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Taking charge of his first North End game of the season, as we entertain league leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers, is match official Rob Jones.

Having been fourth official at PNE games of late, he steps up to the role of the man in the middle for the first time this campaign; his one other game in charge of the Lilywhites being last season’s 1-1 home draw with Rotherham United – the final home game of last season.

This is the referee’s second year on the EFL list and this will also be his first Wolves game, having taken charge of 31 matches so far this season, issuing 85 cautions and six red cards.

His last game was last weekend’s 1-1 draw between Bolton Wanderers and Fulham at the Macron Stadium; with the majority of his recent games being in the EFL Championship.
This weekend in PR1 he will be assisted by Shaun Hudson and James Wilson, whilst the fourth official will be Select Group Two match official Jeremy Simpson, who last took charge of the Lilywhites down at Millwall in the middle of last month.

 

Preston North End 1 Browne Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 Costa

PNE: Rudd, Fisher, Huntington, Davies, Earl, Welsh, Johnson (Harrop 88), Bodin, Browne, Barkhuizen (Moult 88), Robinson (Horgan 70).
Subs (not used): Harrop, Woods, Spurr, Moult, O'Reilly, Maxwell.
Wolves: Ruddy, Bennett, Coady, Boly, Doherty, N'Diaye (Afobe 62), Neves, Douglas, Costa (Saiss 81), Cavaleiro (Bonatini 88), Jota.
Subs (not used): Batth, Gibbs-White, Miranda, Norris.
Referee: Rob Jones (Merseyside) Attendance: 18,570 (5,626 away)

Would have taken a point before the game however disappointed we didn't take all three and unsurprisingly the sending off of Welsh on the hour changed the course of the game. Sadly both probably bookings although both soft, the second one Welsh barely touched Cavaleiro however down he went rolled around and off went Welsh, the first booking Jota's scream has apparently caused an earthquake in Wales, rolls around in agony but doesn't need the trainer as per.
Up to thye sending off it had been a really decent game with North End dominating early possession before Wolves made their class tell by pinning us back, we survived a couple of close efforts but came back strongly on the stroke of half time, causing problems for the Wolves defence with keeper Ruddy looking less than secure. Happy to get to the break level we started off the second in impressive style, Browne had already hit the post before he headed home a Robinson corner at the back post to give us a deserved lead. Then came the sending off and it was then just a case of holding on to the lead which we did for all of two minutes. Wasn't a classic Wolves goal by the standard of some thatb they have scored this seaon, personal view the ball just bounced right for them and ended up at the feet of Costa about 10 yards out all square.
Feared the worst but we hung on in there, a couple of Neves efforts went narrowly wide also Rudd had to make one decent save but the couldn't break us down again.
Browne was immense for us today, also interesting to note we had a 16 year old on the bench in Adam Reilly, disappointed with a point but now two points from Bristol City in sixth, we may play Wanderers next season after all.

Preston manager Alex Neil:

"In the first half we limited Wolves to not many chances, but I thought we had one ingredient missing in the first half which was a bit of belief that we could beat them.

"That was the basis of my half-time team talk. We started the second half on the front foot, we got our goal.

"What would have been really good would have been to keep 11 men on the pitch and see how the game transpired. At that stage I was really confident that we would have gone on to win the game."

Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo:

"Everybody thought that we were closer to winning the game, but playing against one man less requires a different approach. I think we created enough chances to win it, but we have to have a different approach and it's something we have to look at.

"In the same way, we have to look at set-pieces because we were in control of the game and we concede from a set-piece.

"I am not happy with the result because we prepare every game to win. We need to look at what happened today and get better."

 

Santo hardly gracious. I haven't seen any independent reports - the papers are full of Leeds! The BBC commentator thought the sending off changed the game in Wolves favour.

 

The sending off did change the game may have won if we had kept 11 on however they didn't really create a lot though. Interesting fact nine players have been sent off against them this season, also foul count on Saturday 8 PNE three yellows and a red 10 Wolves