Preston North End 1-0 West Brom: Match ratings as Riis goal heaps pressure on Bruce | OneFootball

Preston North End heaped even more pressure on West Bromwich Albion manager Steve Bruce with a 1-0 success against the Baggies at Deepdale.

Emil Riis scored in the seventh minute after heavy early pressure from the hosts, but despite having chances to equalise in both halves, Albion went back to the Midlands pointless and in the relegation zone.

Let’s look at who performed well and who had a night to forget in what could potentially be Bruce’s last match in charge of West Brom.

PRESTON NORTH END

Freddie Woodman: 7 – Helped by a solid enough defence, Woodman kept a ninth clean sheet in 12 appearances. Made a crucial stop to deny Grant in the second half.

Jordan Storey: 6 – Sometimes caught out against the pace of Diangana, but made some decent recoveries. Could have given away a penalty when he brought down the aforementioned winger.

Liam Lindsay: 8 – A colossus at the back for the hosts. Cleared most things away and made some crucial interceptions.

Greg Cunningham: 6 – Solid at times. Did play some poor passes though out from the back and may come out of the line-up on Saturday with three games in a week potentially being too much.

Alan Browne: 5 – Was troubled by Diangana all game, who used his pace to get the better of him on a number of occasions. Not as solid as he was against Sunderland.

Ben Whiteman: 7 – Had a tricky job against Swift, but marshalled him very well and never gave him a sniff. Good interceptions and progressive play.

Ali McCann: 7 – Usual energetic self in the middle of the park and won the ball back on a number of occasions. Was unlucky not to score in the first half when his shot rattled the woodwork.

Alvaro Fernandez: 7 – Provided the assist for Riis’ goal with a beautiful cross. Provided lots of energy up and down the left flank.

Robbie Brady: 6 – Good in the first half in a free role, good passes and crosses. Faded out in the second half and was replaced.

Emil Riis: 7 – Was somewhat back to his best at times with a well-anticipated goal and some good runs down the channel. Was wasteful in some areas though.

Sean Maguire: 7 – Linked up with Riis and the North End midfield very well. Unlucky not to score with a header in the early stages and looked the sharpest he has been for a while.

Brad Potts: 5 – Replaced a struggling Browne at wing-back. Diangana didn’t have the same effect once he was marking him.

Ryan Ledson: N/A – Didn’t really effect the action in his time on the pitch.

Ben Woodburn: N/A – See Ledson.

Troy Parrott: N/A – See Ledson and Woodburn.

WEST BROM

Alex Palmer: 6 – Not much he could do about Riis’ goal. Made some good stops in the first half to deny Maguire and McCann.

Taylor Gardner-Hickman: 5 – Was bettered by North End’s Fernandez down his side. Didn’t really affect things in attack.

Martin Kelly: 6 – Was challenged in the first 45 minutes by PNE’s attacks. Made a great interception in the second half when chasing back Riis before sticking a foot in at a vital time.

Dara O’Shea: 6 – Like Kelly, he had a rough first half but didn’t have much to do in the second. Has had better games.

Conor Townsend: 6 – Most of West Brom’s attacks came down his side when he combined with Diangana. Looked dangerous at times and didn’t give Browne a sniff for PNE.

Okay Yokuslu: 5 – Went missing at times as PNE broke on the counter through the middle. DIdn’t have much of an impact on the game.

Jayson Molumby: 5 – Looked like a bit of a headless chicken at times as the game passed him by. Replaced in the second half.

John Swift: 5 – Has had impressive games against North End before for Reading but was man-marked out of the game by Whiteman. Had no impact in the final third.

Jed Wallace: 6 – Did his best with some dangerous deliveries that weren’t attacked. Deserves a better supporting cast in the final third.

Grady Diangana: 7 – West Brom’s most dangerous outlet. Put in many dangerous crosses that weren’t capitalised on.

Karlan Grant: 5 – Very wasteful in-front of goal once again. Had a great chance in the second half that he hit straight at Woodman.

Subs

Tom Rogic: 6 – Tried to make things happen with driving runs. Could’ve potentially had an assist if it wasn’t for Lindsay’s last-ditch clearance.

Jake Livermore: 5 – Didn’t do much when he came on, stayed back whilst West Brom attacked.

Brandon Thomas-Asante: 4 – Was brought on to try and get West Brom an equaliser but didn’t have many chances to do that.

Matt Phillips: N/A – Didn’t really impact the game at all.