Alex Neil impressed with Emil Riis Jakobsen in Preston’s win over QPR

Posted Thursday, October 22, 2020 by PA

Preston manager Alex Neil praised Emil Riis Jakobsen after the Danish striker made an impressive full debut in a 2-0 win at QPR.

Penalties from Daniel Johnson and Scott Sinclair – both after fouls by Lee Wallace – gave Neil’s side a deserved three points.

Recent signing Jakobsen won the second penalty and was a constant threat.

“We’ve only done a few days’ work with him and I thought he was terrific,” said Neil.

“He gave us a good presence at the top of the pitch and caused them all sorts of problems. For his first game I thought it was a very good debut.

“I don’t want to put too much pressure on him but he looks a real find. He gives us a target and has pace.

“He’s got nimble feet that don’t really deserve to be on such a tall player.

“We knew what we were getting but like anything it’s when you get them in the building that you know what you’ve got.

“Work-rate is something we always look for and he gives us that.

“He’s confident but really quite humble. He’s got a great opportunity with us and he recognises that.”

Preston were also impressive at the other end of the pitch, defending resolutely against a Rangers side which failed to muster a shot on target.

“That’s been the case for a lot of our games,” said Neil.

“Swansea had one shot and Cardiff didn’t have a lot of chances against us, so we’ve defended quite well.

“When we play like we did tonight we’re a good side.”

QPR manager Mark Warburton was appalled by the lapses in concentration which led to the two penalties.

Sinclair was surrounded by Rangers players before being tripped, while Jakobsen was brought down by Wallace after getting in front of centre-back Rob Dickie.

“After the first 20 minutes I thought we were in control of the game,” Warburton said.

“After 20 minutes I’m thinking ‘if we score now the game’s over’.

“What was really disappointing was that we gave a really soft penalty away and then didn’t respond well to it.

“It was like the wind was out of our sails, our shoulders dropped and we looked a very average team. We stopped doing what we were doing.

“We had five men around him for the first penalty. He shouldn’t even have got in our area. We should just confront him outside our area.

“Then we let in another soft goal. Just head the ball away – but we let it bounce and the guy’s very clever and leaves his leg and goes over. It was an awful second goal.

“We have to learn because the reaction was poor after a really good start.

“We were in control against a good team and let that strong start slip.”