[themaclad]

LAST TIME OUT



DANGER MAN

Benjamin Sorba William Thomas (born 25 January 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Huddersfield Town and the Wales national team.

In The Dressing Room

Manager Ryan Lowe will provide a team news update in his pre-match press conference.

A Look At Our Visitors


While PNE have already faced the Terriers twice this season, only one of those meetings was after Mark Fotheringham’s appointment, and even then it was during the early stages of his time as boss.

This time around, he’s three months into the job, however he probably hasn’t quite yet made the impact in terms of results that he’d have hoped for when he walked through the door for his first managerial role.

His side arrive at Deepdale bottom of the Championship table and with just one win in their last six league matches, and that’s a run of form they won’t want to encounter again during the second half of the campaign.

Going Head To Head


Games played: 98
PNE wins: 38
Draws: 24
Huddersfield Town wins: 36
Last meeting: Huddersfield Town 0-1 PNE, 18th October 2022

One To Watch


Huddersfield Town have spread their 19 league goals – the lowest amount in the division – throughout nine players so far this season, with Danny Ward and Jordan Rhodes sitting as joint-top scorers with three.

Like Rhodes, Ward is a vastly experienced striker at this level, and more often than not leads the line for the Terriers, with former Blackburn Rovers striker Rhodes used mostly off the bench.

Having scored 14 in the league last season, Ward will be looking for more to add to this campaign’s tally, but he has interestingly not scored in any of his 11 games versus the Lilywhites.

Match Officials

Geoff Eltringham will referee his second Championship game of the season on Monday.

The experienced EFL ref has officiated in the second, third, fourth and fifth tiers of English football so far this campaign, and his most recent PNE fixture was last season’s 1-0 defeat away to Derby County.

At this point of the campaign, he’s shown 31 yellow cards and one red in his nine games as the main official.

https://www.sportsbabble.co.uk/showthread.php?tid=11898

Macs View

The first home game in front of fans on a Boxing Day since 2018 when we played Hull. Going to be used to playing the Terriers due again at Deepdale in the cup.
Classic meeting of side who are crap at home against a side who appear to be crap at home and away. Last seasons play off final seems a distant memory as they are going through managers at a rate of knots.
If we had a decent home record we could be close to the Dingles but we don't and we aren't
Anyway enjoy Christmas but always remember the real reason for a holiday at this time of the year is to watch footy

[Lord Snooty]

Freddie Flintoff. Eddie Calvert. Roy Barraclough. Nick Park. John Inman. Your boys took a hell of a beating.

[themaclad]

Preston North End 1 Cunningham Huddersfield Town 2 Rhodes, Kesler-Hayden

PNE line-up: Woodman; Storey, Lindsay, Cunningham; Potts (Diaby, 90+2), Whiteman, Ledson (McCann, 77), Woodburn, Fernández; Johnson (Browne, 77), Woodburn (Riis, 77); Evans. Subs not used: Cornell, Bauer, Cross-Adair.

Huddersfield Town line-up: Nicholls; Lees, Helik, Boyle; Kesler-Hayden, Hogg, Holmes (Jackson, 90+6), Ruffels; Rudoni, Kasumu (Diarra, 71); Rhodes (Simpson, 89). Subs not used: Bilokapic, Mahoney, Camara, Jackson, Spencer.

Attendance: 16,982 (1,097 away fans)

Referee: Mr G Eltringham.

Third home defeat on the trot and the worst of the lot, outplayed by the side bottom of the league who truthfully deserved the win, booed off at the end by the few that remained.
The boost of winning at Ewood is now a distant memory although mitigating factors six first teamers missing but as with the defeat against QPR, we have a very limited squad and January will need to be good to salvage the season. Zero chance of play offs and with more performenances like this, a relegation fight.
Painfully slow football in the first half saw us having to defend in depth against Town who always looked the more ;likely to score although saying that they never looked remotely like achieving that joy. The closest they got was in the last minute of the half when some spectularly average defending let in Kesler-Hayden at the back post, should have scored but in keeping with Ton's attacking threat missed the ball completely, the ball end up with Holmes who then fired over the ball.
The first 20 minutes were only memorable for a bit of hanbags after Kasumu's tackle on Ledson.

When football did eventually break out Woodburn was unlucky with a volley jut over the bar. We took the lead from a corner, looked as though Evans headed home but they have given it to Cunningham
Second half we rarely got out of reverse gear, as Town dominated again never looked like scoring, we had a brief period of play were we looked dangerous but for some reason having a shot at goal does not to be in the teams agenda, should have scored when Woodburn was one on one with the keeper but he flicked the ball over the keeper and wide of the post
Then it was hapless defending time, Diarra who was a pest when he came, chased a ball into the box with Cunningham, the full back lost the ball and fouled the Town player who, fair play didn't go down, he fed he scores when he wants who duly did the ball seemed to go through Woodman.
Rhodes then hit a post and the alarm bells could be heard ringing in the centre of Preston, as it dawned on those that salvaging a point against the bottom club was probably not going to happen, and so it proved Ridoni along with Holmes, Town's best on the day, put in a cross from the left, for some obscure reason Woodman left it and Kesler-Hayden had the simple task unmarked at the back post to score the winner.
Whiteman should have done better with a shot from the edge of the box but Town easily held on for the win.

Preston boss Ryan Lowe told BBC Radio Lancashire:

"I'm disappointed, obviously. When you lose a game of football in the manner we did, two soft goals.

"We didn't play that well. First half, we found ourselves 1-0 up, and had a couple of half-chances. I told them at half-time not to give (Huddersfield) an inch because they will take a mile.

"They are fighting for their lives down at the bottom and still have some good footballers and play the right way. We gave them two opportunities and they scored two goals and we couldn't come back from it.

"They were two goals that if you saw them on a Sunday morning pitch - from our aspect, not theirs - it's calamity and you can't allow that to happen.

"One ball up the pitch and then an error of judgement and he pulls it back for a free shot just outside the six-yard box, and the second is a ball fired across the box that has to be dealt with and is not."

Huddersfield boss Mark Fotheringham told BBC Radio Leeds:

"It was a really gritty performance and I was delighted for the lads. They showed really strong character to come back and overall it was a very satisfying performance.

"We showed a real positive energy, they never let their heads go down and that shows they are fighting. We have sent a ripple through the league with that result. We have to build on it now.

"Duane (Holmes) was the best player on the park today and last week he wasn't in the squad.

"We utilised the squad and have got a lot of games coming up. We are trying to bring a freshness and in the coming weeks there's lots of games to play and I'm sure we will utilise the squad and Sorba (Thomas) will be involved."

[themaclad]