Preston North End 1-0 Ipswich Town - Half-Time Saturday, 23rd Aug 2025 16:00 Milutin Osmajic’s 11th-minute penalty has given Preston North End a 1-0 half-time lead over Town at Deepdale. The Blues were unchanged from last week’s 1-1 home draw with Southampton with Alex Palmer continuing in goal behind a back four of, from the right, Ben Johnson, skipper Dara O’Shea, Jacob Greaves and Leif Davis. Jack Taylor and Azor Matusiwa were the midfield pairing behind Jack Clarke on the right, Sammie Szmodics in the middle and Jaden Philogene on the left. George Hirst was making his 50th Town start as the number nine. Kasey McAteer who signed from Leicester yesterday, was on the bench at Deepdale for the second week running having been an 86th-minute sub in the Foxes’ 2-1 defeat to the Lilywhites last Saturday. Chuba Akpom was among the Blues’ subs for the first time since joining the club on loan from Ajax earlier in the month. Preston also named an unchanged side following their victory over the Foxes with neither ex-Blues Will Keane, who is injured, or Dai Cornell in their 20-man squad. Town, in their all red second strip, struck the game’s first shot after just a minute, Philogene winning a tackle not far outside the home side’s area then, after briefly losing control himself, looping an effort well wide. But after that, the Blues struggled to make much headway going forward with Preston quickly winning the ball back - or possession surrendered cheaply - whenever Town sought to make forays forward. The Lilywhites caused a few more problems at the other end, Greaves cutting out a dangerous Thierry Small cross from the left. On nine, Davis brought the ball forward to the edge of the area with a defender hanging off him and shot over but with referee Matthew Donohue surprisingly opting not to award a free-kick. A minute later, Town had an even bigger reason to be irked with the referee when he awarded the home side a penalty. The Blues had struggled to get a bouncing ball out of their box and as the grounded Greaves attempted to clear, Osmajic went to ground. Referee Donohue pointed straight to the spot with the Town players protesting at length. Osmajic took the kick himself, Palmer diving to his right and the ball going to his left and into the net, the Montenegrin’s third goal in three Championship games this season. The goal meant Town have now gone 22 games without keeping a clean sheet, tying a club record from 1954/55. The Blues started to take control but with too many passes still going astray. On the quarter hour, Davis did well on the left and crossed low towards Hirst, but Lewis Gibson got in ahead of the Town number nine to clear. On 21, after a spell of possession, if not always the most composed, Johnson struck a powerful effort from the edge of the box past home keeper Daniel Iversen’s left post. Two minutes later, Clarke was found wide on the right, brought the ball forward into the area and hit a cross-shot which was cleared. Town had reacted well to going behind with their 4,000-plus fans giving their their full backing. In the 26th minute, Philogene brought the ball inside from the left with two defenders hanging onto him and was eventually brought down but having had the opportunity to pass to Szmodics or Clarke, who were in the clear inside the box. Andrew Hughes was shown the game’s first yellow card. Town continued to see most of the ball with Preston happy to sit back on their lead and look for breaks. On 36, Matusiwa was dispossessed on the Town right and Greaves was forced to step across to intercept a ball forward for Michael Smith. Four minutes later, Clarke wafted over a superb cross from the right which beat Gibson and reached Hirst behind him. However, with the ball bouncing just in front of him, the Scotland international sent the ball well into the stand. Johnson was shown Town’s first yellow card of the game on 41 for clipping Osmajic on the Preston left. As the half moved into two minutes of injury Szmodics crossed towards Hirst. The striker was unable to get a clean touch on the ball and Clarke momentarily looked like he might get on it until Iversen claimed. Aside from Pol Valentin being booked for a foul on Philogene, that was the last action the half. Having gone behind to the early penalty, the Blues dominated possession without carving out a clear-cut chance, Hirst’s effort from Clarke’s cross having been the best opportunity. Once in front, Preston had been content to sit back and catch Town on breaks, trying to make the most of the Blues’ tendency to give the ball away before getting to the danger zone. Preston: Iversen, Storey, Gibson, Hughes, Valentin, Whiteman (c), McCann, Small, Devine, Smith, Osmajic. Subs: Walton, Offiah, Lindsay, Vukcevic, Thordarson, Carroll, Jebbison, Dobbin, Gryba, Ipswich: Palmer, Johnson, O’Shea (c), Greaves, Davis, Matusiwa, Taylor, Clarke, Szmodics, Philogene, Hirst. Subs: Walton, Young, Woolfenden, Kipre, Cajuste, Ogbene, Chaplin, McAteer, Akpom. Referee: Matthew Donohue (Manchester).
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