‘Never-say-die’ Preston delight boss Ryan Lowe

Posted Saturday, November 11, 2023 by PA

Ryan Lowe lauded Preston’s ‘never-say-die attitude’ after grabbing a late Lancashire derby winner at Blackburn.

In a frenetic encounter, North End rode their luck and were grateful Arnor Sigurdsson’s volley came back off the crossbar before skipper Alan Browne gave Preston the lead with a terrific left-foot finish.

Rovers hit the woodwork again before half-time and equalised just after through Sammie Szmodics’ 10th Championship goal this season.

It felt as though the hosts would go on to win but Duane Holmes struck a post for Preston, who dramatically secured a 2-1 victory when Liam Lindsay’s low header gave them a 90th-minute winner.

Preston are fourth after a second consecutive win at Ewood Park and Lowe felt his side gave ‘everything’.

He said: “When you win derbies, you’re always going to enjoy it.

“I thought the lads were fantastic. They had to deal with large parts of their pressure and how they play. They’re a good footballing team but we withstood all that.

“Disappointed with the goal but again, the lads showed that real character and desire, never-say-die attitude. To score the winner in front of our fans, it probably can’t get much better.

“The players gave us everything. The players coming on the pitch, the players starting, the bench behind. They’re fantastic, and that’s what I say to them all the time.

“We are a strong, resolute team that can overpower some teams. I think you see that with the goal. They give us everything, and as long as they keep giving me everything, and the staff, and the football club, then we’ll win a lot of games.

Blackburn have lost four of their last five at home and though manager Jon Dahl Tomasson felt defeat was harsh, he accepted Rovers did not create ‘clear’ chances.

He said: “We are of course extremely disappointed to lose the game. I don’t think we deserved to lose the game.

“If you look at the overall performance, we were the better team, created chances, more than the opponent. We were probably lacking a bit of clear chances in the final third, we were missing runs in behind. When we did that, we created chances immediately.

“We know Preston are extremely good at passing long, winning second balls, crossing, set-plays and transition. There were two occasions where we didn’t deal with those and it cost two goals.

“This young group gave everything so (I’m) disappointed to concede that late in the game.

“You need to deal better with those situations. I think with the possession we had, we should probably have created a little bit more clear chances in my opinion. But still there were plenty of good opportunities to win this game.”