Iain Hume’s second half goal for bottom of the table Preston was enough to consign Town to their sixth successive league defeat and heap even more pressure on boss Roy Keane. The Blues were the better side in the first half but failed to take their chances with Jason Scotland and full debutant Rory Fallon both missing opportunities.
Keane rang the changes with skipper David Norris returning in midfield, Jack Colback switching to the left with Andros Townsend dropping to the bench.
Mark Kennedy came in at left-back, Keane having decided his former Republic of Ireland team-mate was fit enough to return to the side after his hamstring problem. Darren O’Dea was amongst the subs, but again there was no place for Damien Delaney.
Up front, Rory Fallon came in for his first start with Jason Scotland playing the role behind the on-loan Plymouth man. Tamás Priskin, a loanee at Deepdale while a Watford player, was on the bench but Ronan Murray was left out of the 18. Preston, unchanged from their draw with Cardiff, were captained by former Blue Wayne Brown.
Brian Murphy, retaining his place with Márton Fülöp still sidelined with an injury, was the first keeper tested in the game’s fourth minute but Michael Tonge’s speculative 40-yard effort failed to trouble him. For the Blues, Grant Leadbitter curled an early strike well wide.
On eight, after Fallon had done well to win the ball in the air, Scotland almost latched on to a poor Ritchie De Laet header back to keeper Andy Lonergan, the one-time Blues target being forced to punch.
More good work from Fallon a minute later led to Scotland having an even better chance, the former Wigan man holding off a defender and hitting a shot off the stanchion when he probably should have done better.
Town were well on top, keeping the ball and passing it around with confidence, despite the recent poor run. On 20 Colback teed up Fallon on the edge of the area, Lonergan fingertipping the New Zealander’s scuffed shot wide.
Adam Barton struck a low 25-yard shot through to Murphy in the 23rd minute, then four minutes later the Blues were again close to going in front. Leadbitter sent Edwards away on the right, the winger finding Scotland. The Trinidad and Tobago international laid the ball back to the on-rushing Fallon, whose powerful shot was well saved by Lonergan.
The home side and their fans finally woke up in the 28th minute when Hume thought he’d been fouled in the area by Smith, but referee Eddie Ilderton thought otherwise. From the resultant corner, Billy Jones’s looping header struck the post, then the Blues repeatedly failed to clear their lines before finally getting the ball away from the danger area.
Preston came into the game more after striking the post but it was the Blues who were continuing to play the better football and on 39 again weren’t too far from a goal. Colback sent in a corner from the left and a diving Smith powered a header wide.
The home side and Jon Parkin in particular were mainly causing Town’s defence problems from set pieces and in the 41st minute a Tonge shot was deflected over after the Blues were unable to clear further than the edge of the area. From that corner, the ball fell to Iain Hume, who blazed over from the right of the area.
At the other end, Fallon headed straight at Lonergan as the half ended with the game still scoreless. Town will have been pleased with their overall display having enjoyed the better of the possession, although having created one or two decent chances will feel they should have been in front.
Full debutant Fallon had won a fair bit in the air and had combined well with Scotland, who had found space behind his strike partner and the midfield on a number of occasions.
The home side had come into it more towards the end of the half and might have gone ahead when they struck the post but a Lilywhites goal at that stage wouldn’t have been a fair reflection of the game at that point.
In the opening minute of the second period a Jack Colback shot deflected straight through to Lonergan, then Edwards sent in a low ball which Leon Cort just intercepted with Colback behind him ready to slide into the net.
Despite Town’s strong start to the half, on 50 the home side went in front. Jones played the ball down the right to Parkin, referee Ilderton waving play on despite a linesman’s flag for a foul. The former Hull striker sent a low ball in to Hume, who had been left in too much space in the area, and the on-loan Barnsley man fired past Murphy.
The Lilywhites immediately went looking for a second, Parkin shooting straight at Murphy, then just after the hour Barton should have made it two from Hume’s cross but headed over when unmarked.
Danny Pugh saw his shot blocked twice by Zuiverloon in the 63rd minute, before Andros Townsend replaced Mark Kennedy, Jack Colback switching to left-back. At Friday’s press conference manager Roy Keane had indicated that if he played Kennedy would only be given an hour at the most.
Two minutes after coming on, Townsend won a freekick five yards from the edge of the box and took it himself, sending the ball narrowly wide of Lonergan’s post.
Preston had looked the more dangerous team since the goal, although on 67 Scotland saw a shot deflected wide and Brown headed powerfully at Lonergan from the corner.
Priskin replaced Scotland on 74, the Blues having been significantly less effective up front in the second period, then Leadbitter shot just wide from the edge of the box. Peters took over from Edwards on 76.
Michael Tonge’s strike hit the sidenetting, then Cort blocked a Fallon shot with the Blues again starting to look an attacking threat. On 78 Colback crossed from the left and Lonergan impressively tipped Peters’s header wide. From the corner, Parkin was forced to hack off the Preston line.
Barton was booked for the latest in a successive of fouls, the most recent on Townsend, as the game entered its final 10 minutes.
On 84 Peters and Zuiverloon cleverly interchanged passes but Norris lashed over the bar from 25 yards. Goalscorer Hume, making the final appearance of his loan spell from Barnsley, was replaced by Paul Parry with four minutes remaining.
Fallon curled the ball over from the edge of the box with Town continuing to have shots at goal but with little conviction and rarely from truly dangerous areas. As the game entered four minutes of injury time, Lonergan was booked for timewasting.
The Blues never looked like getting back on terms in the additional minutes and referee Ilderton signalled the extension of the run of league defeats to six.
Town had been the better side before the break but were made to rue missing their opportunities when they were on top.
After the break, Roy Keane’s team never regained the upper hand with Preston looking the more dangerous side after a couple of early Town chances. Hume made the most of what was probably the Lilywhites’ best opportunity, which proved enough to take the points.
A sixth league defeat in a row, which sees Town down to 18th in the table, will put more pressure on manager Keane and increase fears that the Blues will find themselves dragged into the relegation zone unless the dismal run of form is halted soon.
Town: Murphy, Zuiverloon, Kennedy (Townsend 83), Smith, Brown, Leadbitter, Norris, Edwards (Peters 76), Colback, Scotland (Priskin 74), Fallon. Unused: Livermore, Eastman, O’Dea.
Preston: Lonergan, Jones, De Laet, Cort, Brown, Tonge, Russell, Barton, Pugh, Hume (Parry 86), Parkin. Unused: Morgan, Davidson, St Ledger, Nicholson, Gray, Arestidou. Referee: Eddie Ilderton (Tyne and Wear). Att: 9,419.