Partial summary from the Sheff U forum for interest.
Preston – Before today they were right where we were. Like us had a stuttering season and of course changed their manager recently bringing in Ryan Lowe. They had picked up after a poor start but albeit safe from relegation, like us they look a fair way from a top 6 side even with games in hand. Have a much smaller squad than us but some talent in the likes of Browne and Johnson in midfield but lack quality although the lad Riis has done well as he has shown against us. They have two former Blades in Evans who rarely scores but seems to work hard judging by the fans opinion and Whiteman who seems one of their better players and has done well since he left the Lane.
I am not sure I see them doing much more than where they are. I feel we could have a better claim on moving up and a playoff place but then it’s such an odd division where everyone is much of a muchness really. They are a club that without investment will struggle to be much more than a fringe playoff contender at best and with the crowds/infrastructure, it will always be that way sadly for their fans. They seem well run but also always have to sell a player every few years to keep the finances ticking over. They have changed managers a few times but this probably proves each person in charge has probably got the best he can out of this group really.
Today they began ok but then we dominated for a long spell. The red card of course hindered them numerically but they almost seemed energised by this and had a right go and our set of spineless losers just finally caved in. To be fair they made our keeper have a lot more to do than their 2nd half and, in the end, got a late point. They should never have been close to us but as they saw at the Lane, put the ball in our box and we will not defend properly and they can always get chances.
Opponent Man of the Match – Riis has done well twice against us and is a powerful player.
I thought Sinclair was good despite the miss with his running and I always like Johnson. Browne is another energetic player who gets stuck in. We did control midfield ironically until their lads came on strong the last half hour. Evans did well to offer some aggression and set up the goal.
Opponent Weak link – Hughes. Seems obvious but a pull back and red card makes this award easy although Iversen did not look convincing in goal.
Referee/Officials – David Webb. I was not sure on the penalty at the time as we had no replays but apparently, he was pulled back and if that is the case then technically the red card is right. It did seem a bit soft to me and I think a yellow would not have been argued. The official FA rules state: 'Where a player commits an offence against an opponent within their own penalty area which denies an opponent an obvious goal-scoring opportunity and the referee awards a penalty kick, the offending player is cautioned if the offence was an attempt to play the ball; in all other circumstances (e.g., holding, pulling, pushing, no possibility to play the ball etc.) the offending player must be sent off.' The rest of the game not much really of note. A poor tackle from Hourihane for a yellow and then one for each side, Bogle and Cunningham for dissent.
