3 things we learnt about Preston North End following their 2-0 loss v West Brom | OneFootball

Preston North End suffered a third defeat in succession when they slipped to a 2-0 defeat against West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns on Thursday evening.

Having returned to action with a thumping 4-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers three weeks ago, the Lilywhites now find themselves in a slump, slipping all the way down from fifth in the Championship when they won at Ewood Park to now finding themselves in 14th spot.

A brace from Okay Yokuslu either side of half-time gave Carlos Corberan’s side all three points, in a result which saw the Baggies leapfrog North End in the standings.

Quiz: Have any of these 25 ex-Preston North End players ever played for a London based team?

1 of 25

Dave Nugent

Yes No

Let’s take a look at THREE things we learnt about PNE in defeat against Albion.

Woodman proves his critics wrong

Following the 2-1 Boxing Day loss against Huddersfield Town, a few North End fans were critical of goalkeeper Freddie Woodman on social media, believing that he was at fault for both goals conceded against the Terriers and questioning his general abilities.

This is a goalkeeper that has kept 11 clean sheets in the Championship already and has looked incredibly solid, and he really proved his worth against West Brom despite being on the losing side.

Woodman had nine shots against him and made seven saves, four of them with reflexes according to Wyscout, showing that he kept the Baggies well at bay for as long as he could.

The scoreline would have been a lot more lop-sided if it wasn’t for Woodman’s efforts in-between the sticks, so he needs a big pat on the back for that.

Bauer past his best?

There was somewhat of a surprise on the team-sheet at 7pm when Patrick Bauer was afforded a rare start by Lowe.

It was just the German’s second appearance in the league all season, with his only two starts coming in the EFL Cup, and perhaps he showed why he hasn’t been selected ahead of Liam Lindsay in the middle of the back three.

He was miles off the pace and struggled to deal with the pace and power of Brandon Thomas-Asante and then Daryl Dike – perhaps it was a bad decision from Lowe to chuck him in instead of perhaps Bambo Diaby.

Ryan Lowe needs help in the transfer window

If it wasn’t obvious enough already, PNE manager Lowe needs some fresh faces in January to bolster their hopes of the play-offs.

Lowe said himself post-match that he could do with a striker, a wing-back and a creative midfielder in what appeared to be a real calling out of the hierarchy to assist him next month with what he needs.

The fact that he brought on young striker Finlay Cross-Adair for Emil Riis in the second half when goals were needed seemed like Lowe was sending a message to the board that he does not have the tools required to push for the play-offs realistically – let’s see what happens next month in regards to transfers…