‘We were so dominant’: Preston North End boss’ surprise admission after Portsmouth defeat
Pompey secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Pompey on Saturday afternoon.
Paul Heckingbottom admitted he was surprised Preston North End came away Saturday’s defeat to Pompey with nothing.
But the Lilywhites boss has praised his side’s performance given Fratton Park is a ‘difficult place to come’.
Andre Dozzell’s fabulous effort on the stroke of half-time was the difference at PO4 as John Mousinho’s men ground out their first league win on home soil of the campaign.
It was a credit to the Blues who defended their box superbly despite late, sustained pressure from the Lilywhites.
And that attacking performance by North End warranted at least a draw according to Heckingbottom, who was proud of his side’s showing.
Speaking to our sister paper, the Lancashire Evening Post, he said: ‘Yeah, tight. Nothing fell for us in that second half. I was pleased with the performance. Not our day; another deflection.
‘We have conceded three goals... two of them deflections, one of them an own goal. But the performance was strong again. It's a difficult place to come, it's a difficult place.
‘I think the fact we were so dominant in the second half, it's credit to the players and how we approached it. We were pleased with the wing-backs, we pushed them on higher and we spoke about that in the summer - about a bit more productivity and balls in the box. We got that from both sides.
‘They defended the box better and made a lot of blocks to protect the ‘keeper and the goal. When it did drop to us, we just missed one or two chances.
‘I’m just disappointed with the pressure we had and the balls we got in, we couldn't get anything to fall for us. The only thing I'm disappointed with is the fact we've come away with nothing.’
In a bid to break Pompey’s defences, Heckingbottom rolled the changes bringing on midfielder Mads Frokjaer, striker Lewis Dobbin and defender Odel Offiah.
Despite this, Preston were unable to create any clear chances, with the Blues’ backline sticking strong to protect the lead.
And the Lilywhites boss praised Pompey’s defensive showing despite his side throwing everything at them.
Paul Heckingbottom’s Pompey praise
‘Yes, we got on top in the second half. I felt first half we passed the ball alright - not as bad as last year when we came, but similar in terms of I felt we missed opportunities to make them defend. Sometimes you can't be too proud to just make them defend when they were 2v2 at the back.
‘You saw when Smudge got in down the left channel; I felt Jebbo could’ve made and timed his runs better but also when he did, our centre-backs were turning down that pass. So, we were having to play our way through and we did it, particularly down the left and Thierry (Small) got crosses in.
‘Second half, we needed to make sure we were better at that and we did. Steffy was getting it higher as well, but then those areas I felt were made for Lewis and Mads. We were prepared to make those changes. I said last season too many times we had just had two nines in Milly and Emil (Riis).
‘It means in a season you can't start two nines and not be playing 90 minutes. So, the state of the game, you generally need a centre-forward up your sleeve. We played with a diamond a lot - one striker and two tens. Why couldn't we have had three centre-forwards on the pitch there, to try and win all those balls?
‘Because we were getting deliveries, when I said credit to the wing-backs. But they were defending their box well and we were going to have to bludgeon our way in. So, sometimes you just need brute force and physicality in some games.’
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