Ryan Lowe praises Preston’s character after hard-fought win over Swansea

Posted Wednesday, November 02, 2022 by PA

Ryan Lowe believes Preston’s character was the key factor in a 1-0 win over fellow promotion chasers Swansea at Deepdale.

Brad Potts fired home the only goal 30 minutes into the first half after Swansea centre-back Harry Darling failed to clear.

Lowe’s side were forced to defend for much of the second half, with the Swans finishing the match with 72 per cent possession, but unable to find a way past the inspired Freddie Woodman in the Preston goal.

Lowe hailed the character of his men to hold on for what is a vital victory, with just two points separating fifth and 11th in the Sky Bet Championship table.

He said: “We got it spot on tactically tonight and particularly in the second half we saw the lads produce fantastic character.

“They were forced to put their bodies on the line and I think we nullified their threat.

“I know Swansea had a lot of possession, but to restrict them to just four shots on target is a superb effort from our lads.

“Every player out there showed great character, resilience and desire to see out the victory.

“Swansea threw the kitchen sink at us in the second half, but the lads withstood it and I think overall we deserved the victory.”

One man who particularly stood out for Preston was Woodman, and Lowe praised the former Swansea goalkeeper for yet another clean sheet.

“Those saves from Freddie towards the end really epitomised his performance,” Lowe added.

“Those personal moments are really big for him, and they were definitely ones for him tonight because he used to play for Swansea.

“That’s 11 clean sheets I think now. He’s having a terrific season.”

Swansea boss Russell Martin also praised Woodman for his efforts but believed Darling’s costly error denied Swansea a result.

He said: “We had a couple of scary moments in the first half, but apart from that I thought we dominated.

“I’m not disappointed with the performance at all overall, but one mistake has cost us.

“Their keeper Freddie Woodman has had a brilliant game in the end, and that says a lot.

“Particularly in the second half he made some great saves, and nine times out of 10 we’d have got a result after that performance.

“A couple of the lads were maybe not quite as slick as they normally are and maybe we lacked a bit of composure at times.

“We’ll have these moments of pain over the course of a season of course, but it’s about how you bounce back from them.

“It’s frustrating that we didn’t score, but we gave Preston something to hang on to, and they are good at that, so I have no complaints about the result.”