Wednesday Fulham Stuff - 11/12/19...

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Results

Wednesday
Bristol City	1-2	Millwall
Leeds	2-0	Hull
Nottm Forest	1-1	Middlesborough
Preston NE	2-1	Fulham
Charlton	0-1	Huddersfield
Stoke	3-0	Luton

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Preston North End 2-1 Fulham

David Nugent scored his first goal for Preston since their 4-0 win against Coventry in April 2007

Preston North End ended a run of four consecutive Championship defeats as they beat Fulham in a game which saw both sides reduced to 10 men.

Sean Maguire put the hosts ahead from close range, before Fulham's Denis Odoi was dismissed soon after for an elbow on Patrick Bauer.

Preston were shown a red card of their own just before the break when Joe Rafferty was sent off for a bad tackle on Joe Bryan.

David Nugent doubled Preston's lead after the break when he bundled home, while Aleksandar Mitrovic pulled a goal back with a deflected long-range strike.

Defeat was Fulham's second in a row in the league, having lost against Bristol City on Saturday, and leaves them 10 points behind second-placed West Bromwich Albion in third.

Meanwhile, Preston moved up to sixth thanks to their victory, which gives them a two-point cushion on seventh-placed Sheffield Wednesday.

Preston almost made their player advantage count soon after Odoi's red card when Maguire fired goalbound, but his effort was parried away by Cottagers keeper Marek Rodak.

That advantage did not last long after Rafferty's red card on the stroke of half-time, but the hosts scored again after the break and were almost out of sight.

Veteran forward Nugent, who rejoined the club in the summer, scored his first goal for Preston since 2007 as the hosts took control.

However, Mitrovic inspired a late Fulham rally courtesy of his strike that bounced and deflected past North End goalkeeper Declan Rudd.



https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/50639234

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Head Coach press conference

Scott Parker was disappointed by what he felt was a poor performance at both ends of the pitch vs Preston North End on Tuesday night.

After starting the game in a positive fashion his side was pegged back by Sean Maguire early in the first half before a Denis Odoi red card changed the outlook of proceedings.

With the hosts also seeing red, the remainder of the game was played with both teams one man short. 

Despite the lifeline Parker was left ruining the inability of his side not to work their way back into the game.

"It's a disappointing performance from us," Parker reflected. "Both ends of the pitch we just simply weren't good enough tonight.

"Defensively we gave away sloppy, cheap goals and in the top end of the pitch we lacked a real cutting edge.

"We got to the edge of the box pretty well and got into final third but we lacked quality when it came to crossing opportunities on goal.

"We lacked movement in and around the penalty area as well.

"You can't give away goals like we did in any division. At this present moment in time we need to score two or three goals to win a football match and that leaves us with uphill battles.

"In the end we huffed and puffed and we obviously had some good opportunities but on another day you might be walking out of here with a draw.

"We just have to dust ourselves off and go again."

Preston, who had been in poor form and lost four straight before the match vs Fulham this evening grew in confidence throughout the encounter and Parker was frustrated by how easily his side conceded against a side low on confidence.

"I thought they did really well," Parker stated. "They had been on a bit of a bad run when we arrived here today.

"It had been four defeats in a row but today they really didn't have to work too hard for their two goals.

"After their first goal and before the sending off I felt like we were working our way back into the game.

"After the sending off we had to work around that a little bit and make changes.

"When it went to ten v ten we conceded a poor second goal and it took the breath out of us.

"We finished the game strong but it just wasn't our day.

"We tried to get more attackers on the pitch near the end  and that was a risk worth taking."

Following a controversial end to the last match vs Bristol City the match at Deepdale was packed full of incident.

An early Denis Odoi red card was almost levelled off by a two-footed Ben Pearson challenge before Jospeh Rafferty was sent packing for a rash tackle on Joe Bryan.

Despite some decisions not going our way in recent weeks the Head Coach was quick to point out his side need to move forward and focus on the next task at hand.

"I have not been able to take a look at the incident yet," he said. "At the time it looked like a bit of a headrush moment so from what I am hearing it seems like it was a sending off.

"The two footed tackle looked bad from where I was standing at real time, it looked like a red card.

"It was a two footed challenge and that is dangerous play.

"We've been on the receiving end of a couple of bad decisions. It's one of those things in football. We go home empty handed tonight.

"All we can do is analyse, see what went wrong, work on things and try to improve.

"Decisions and what happened tonight is long gone. We have to look forward."



http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2019/december/10/head-coach-press conference-preston

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 Preston 2-1 Fulham: David Nugent scores as North End return to Championship top six
Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash at Deepdale

Preston moved back into the Sky Bet Championship play-off places with a 2-1 win over Fulham at Deepdale in a game that saw both sides end with 10 men.

Sean Maguire struck the opener with North End's first goal in five games (23), and that sparked the game into life; Denis Odoi was sent off for recklessly jumping into Patrick Bauer (28), and Joe Rafferty's lunge on Joe Bryan was met by the same punishment (45).

The hosts doubled their lead shortly after the break when David Nugent tapped home his first goal since returning to the club in the summer (52), before Aleksandar Mitrovic struck a late consolation (81).

Victory for Alex Neil's men ends a run of four straight defeats, leaving them sixth in the table; Fulham's second loss in a row sees them now trail second-place West Brom by 10 points.

How Preston recovered from their recent slump

It had been a drizzly, miserable day in Lancashire prior to kick-off and fans in the sparsely-populated stands at Deepdale were treated to a flat opening 20 minutes, devoid of chances for either side.

Team news

For the hosts, Patrick Bauer, Billy Bodin and David Nugent started ahead of Jordan Storey, Tom Barkhuizen and Jayden Stockley as Alex Neil looked to arrest an alarming four-match losing streak.

Fulham boss Scott Parker made two changes to the side that lost 2-1 to Bristol City last time out, with Aboubakar Kamara and Cyrus Christie starting in place of Joe Bryan and Tom Cairney, the latter of whom missed out through illness.

Midway through the half, Preston took the lead. Billy Bodin's corner from the left-hand side floated over to the far post, where Maguire escaped the clutches of Alfie Mawson and Aboubakar Kamara, swivelled 180 degrees, and lashed a shot past Marek Rodak.

Fulham were then, needlessly, reduced to 10 men after Bauer felt the full force of Odoi's shoulder in his face, but the numerical disadvantage lasted all of 17 minutes as Rafferty cynically brought Bryan down on halfway.

The absence of Tom Cairney was evident after the break, particularly after Nugent - who played for Preston between 2005 and 2007 - tapped home after getting the better of Mawson in an aerial duel inside the six-yard box.

However, the visitors did manage to fashion some late chances. Stefan Johansen saw a curling shot cannon off the underside of the bar, before Mitrovic set up a tense finale when he pulled one back with a deflected shot from the edge of the box.

Their subsequent efforts were futile, but a smart save from second half substitute Tom Barkhuizen by Rodak prevented it from getting any worse.

Man of the match - Paul Huntington

Heading into the game on the dreadful run of form Preston were in, facing Aleksandar Mitrovic was likely to be a daunting prospect for Huntington, but he and Patrick Bauer worked effortlessly to keep the frontman at bay.

First to every ball into the box, the defender did well to restrict his opponent's openings, though he could do little to stop Mitrovic when the inevitable goal did come. Commentator Jonathan Oakes joked that he was close to winning the award in the recent defeat to West Brom, but there's no doubt it was his on this occasion.

What the managers said...

Preston's Alex Neil: "Football at this level is fine margins. We've had chances against West Brom, we didn't take them, we got punished. Same as Saturday against QPR. I think tonight, although we took two, we probably had another two or three really good chances in the second half to finish it off.

"But Fulham are a good team. The one thing I will say is...when you go down to 10 men each, that pitch becomes massive and it's a bit like a basketball game. I thought it was an entertaining game, a lot of chances both ends and just, thankfully, we came out the right end."

Fulham's Scott Parker: "We certainly didn't defend the long ball that well; every long ball that went up caused us a problem. They were sloppy goals, defensively, and then on the flip side of that we get into very good positions, we get to the edge of their box really well, but we lacked quality in those areas.

"At both ends of the pitch tonight we just weren't good enough, to be honest with you."

What's next?

Preston host Luton at Deepdale at 3pm on Saturday afternoon, with Fulham travelling to west London rivals Brentford for their final west London derby at Griffin Park. That game also gets underway at 3pm.



https://www.skysports.com/football/preston-vs-fulham/report/409592

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Ten-man Fulham are beaten at Preston

Preston 2 Fulham 1

Dennis Odoi was sent off as Fulham were beaten at Deepdale.

Aleksandar Mitrovic's late goal gave the Whites hope but Preston, who had lost their previous four matches, held on.

Fulham went behind midway through the first half when they failed to deal with a corner and Sean Maguire was able to turn and fire into the net.

Odoi was then dismissed for a reckless challenge on Patrick Bauer but Preston were themselves reduced to 10 men just before half-time when Joe Rafferty was red-carded for a lunge at Joe Bryan.

However, Preston went further ahead seven minutes into the second half courtesy of David Nugent's first goal since his return to the Lancashire club.

After Whites keeper Marek Rodak had saved Brad Potts' shot, Nugent reacted quickly to the loose ball and scored after getting the better of Alfie Mawson.

Stefan Johansen went close to pulling a goal back when his strike hit the bar.

Mitrovic eventually reduced the deficit with nine minutes remaining.

Substitute Neeskens Kebano did well on the left and set up the striker, whose shot from near the edge of the penalty area was helped in by a deflection off Preston's Ben Pearson.

Fulham: Rodak, Odoi, Mawson (Kebano 60), Johansen, Mitrovic, Ream, Cavaleiro (Bryan 32), Christie, Knockaert, Onomah, Kamara.
Subs not used: Bettinelli, Harris, De La Torre, O'Riley, Taylor-Crossdale.



https://www.westlondonsport.com/fulham/odoi-sent-off-as-fulham-are-beaten-at-preston

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Nugent on target for Preston as they end four-match losing streak against Fulham

Preston ended a four-match losing streak in the Championship with a 2-1 victory over fellow promotion contenders Fulham as both sides ended the contest with 10 men.

Sean Maguire handed the Lilywhites the lead at Deepdale before Fulham's Denis Odoi was shown a straight red card for an aerial challenge on Patrick Bauer.

Joe Rafferty also saw a straight red before half-time for a high challenge, before David Nugent scored his first Preston goal since returning to the club after the break.

Fulham's Aleksandar Mitrovic halved the deficit late on with his 16th strike of the campaign, but the Lilywhites climbed back into the play-off spots as the Cottagers remain in third.

Fulham marksman Mitrovic had sight of goal inside three minutes, turning on the edge of the box to spin past Bauer and fizz off target.

Alan Browne was unable to capitalise fully on Alfie Mawson's slip, but from the resulting corner Fulham failed to clear their lines and Maguire fired in on the turn to give the home side a 23rd minute advantage.

Paul Huntington was not far away from doubling Preston's lead with a looping header two minutes later.

But the Cottagers were reduced to 10 men when Odoi was shown a straight red card for a poor aerial challenge on Bauer before the half-hour mark where he appeared to catch the German with his shoulder.

Veteran Nugent almost unleashed a free Maguire around 10 minutes before the break, while Marek Rodak was quick off his line to deny Preston's goalscorer after a defence-splitting Billy Bodin pass.

But the Lilywhites themselves went a man down when Rafferty saw a straight red just before the break for a high boot on Fulham substitute Joe Bryan.

The home side doubled their lead six minutes after the restart when Rodak parried Brad Potts' shot to Nugent who tangled with Mawson but tucked away the loose ball at the second time of asking.

The woodwork denied a sublime effort from Stefan Johansen with 18 minutes remaining as Fulham went close to halving the deficit.

Josh Onomah placed a low effort from just outside the box inches wide as the closing stages beckoned and Mitrovic darted into the penalty area only to curl off target.

Serbia international Mitrovic grabbed one back for Fulham with eight minutes left after a deflected effort crept into the bottom corner past Declan Rudd.

Preston substitute Josh Harrop fizzed a shot across goal before full-time and Rodak denied a first time effort from Tom Barkhuizen as the Deepdale side looked for a third.

Mitrovic's free kick under the Preston wall deep into injury time was claimed by Rudd and Rodak denied Maguire at the other end.



Read more at https://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/nugent-target-preston-they-end-four-match-losing-streak-against-fulham#jcwCTROHFTqlPOd9.99

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Preston 2-1 Fulham: FLW Reports as Neil's side end their losing run to leave Fulham playing catch up to the top two

Often in football, the context of a win can be so much more important than the nature of it, and it feels as though that was certainly the case for Preston North End on Tuesday night.

Going into this clash with promotion chasing Fulham, Alex Neil's side had suffered four straight defeats, a run which had seen them drop out of the play-off places for the first time since August, putting their own hopes of competing for a place in the Premier League this season under threat.

But with that hanging over them, Preston would – not for the first time this season – rally themselves at what is now once again fortress Deepdale, to grind out a deserved win in a game that saw the entire second half played by just ten men for each side.

It is a result that sees Preston haul themselves back into the play-off spots, and leaves Fulham staring at a ten-point deficit to the top two, after back to back defeats, which may now raise questions as to whether this supposed three-horse race for automatic promotion, is already becoming a two-horse race.

With Preston perhaps feeling the pressure given they came into this one off the back of that run, it was Fulham – keen to hit back from their own defeat to Bristol City at the weekend – who started the game on the front foot.

But while the visitors enjoyed much of the early possession and territory, they were unable to really trouble their hosts defence with the exception of a Mitrovic effort dragged just wide from the edge of the area, and a couple of dangerous balls into the North End box from Ivan Cavaleiro and Cyrus Christie, which were well dealt with by the Preston backline.

That failure to make that pressure tell is something that Fulham would live to regret, as Preston took the lead with one of their first forays into the Fulham area midway through the first half, when a corner from Billy Bodin was flicked on to Sean Maguire at the back post, with the Irishman finishing clinically to put North End ahead.

Minutes later, Fulham would find themselves at a disadvantage in terms of men as well, as Dennis Odio would catch Patrick Bauer – the German only just back after two games out with injury – late in the air on the edge of the Preston penalty area, prompting referee Keith Stroud to consult his linesman before electing to brandish a red card in the face of the Fulham full-back.

For a time, that numerical advantage – in both senses – had Preston well in the ascendency, and they could have been further ahead had Rodak not reacted well to deny Maguire a second after a pinpoint through ball into the Fulham box from that man Bodin.

With just minutes remaining in the first half however, the outlook of the game would change again, as numbers on the field were levelled up again, after a studs-up challenge by Joe Rafferty on Joe Bryan on half-way – brought on by Scott Parker in response to Fulham's own red card – saw the Preston man dismissed by Stroud, this time without any discussion with his assistants.

If Preston had been left reeling by that red card for Rafferty, then they didn't show it for long at the start of the second half.

Although Aboubakar Kamara would have the first sight of goal after the break, firing well over from 20 yards, it would be North End who would apply the pressure early in the half, and make it tell.

While David Nugent would be denied by Rodak after being found from Rudd's goal kick after that Kamara effort, the veteran striker's wait for his first goal in a Preston shirt since returning to the club in the summer would not last much longer.

Once again, it would be Bodin who would play a key role, linking up for a brilliant one-two with Brad Potts to break the latter into the Fulham area, and while Rodak would parry that initial effort away, Nugent was on hand to force home the rebound from close range at the second attempt, scoring his 26th goal for the club, 12 years after racking up his 25th for North End, seven minutes into the second half.

That would, for a period, be enough for Preston to settle down and see out this game, with Fulham struggling to break down the North End defence as they went in search of a route back into the game.

Eventually however, those chances would start to come for the visitors as the game entered the final 20 minutes, and for a second, it had seemed as though they wouldn't have needed many to get back into it, as Knockaert's corner found its way to Johansen on the edge of the area, with his curling effort cannoning off the underside of the North End crossbar and away to safety.

Onomah and Mitrovic would then fire efforts of their own wide, before, as the clock ticked down to just ten minutes remaining, Fulham's Mr Reliuable to step up once again.

Some good work from Neeskens Kebano – brought on in place of Alfie Mawson in response to Preston's second goal – saw the attacker lay the ball off to Mitrovic on the edge of the area, with the Serb's deflected effort bouncing into the bottom corner of Rudd's goal to give Fulham a glimmer of hope.

Ultimately however, it would be a case of too little too late for the visitors, with Preston withstanding some late pressure, and even going close to extending their lead through substitute Tom Barkhuizen late on, as Alex Neil's side made a timely return to winning ways in the race for promotion.



https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/preston-2-1-fulham-flw-reports-as-neils-side-end-their-losing-run-to-leave-fulham-playing-catch-up-to-the-top-two/

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Preston 2-1 Fulham: David Nugent scores decisive goal as both sides are reduced to 10 men

    Sean Maguire put Preston ahead from Billy Bodin's corner after 23 minutes
    Fulham lost Denis Odoi to a red after an aerial challenge with Patrick Bauer
    Joe Rafferty was then dismissed following a challenge on Joe Bryan
    David Nugent doubled the lead seven minutes into the second half
    Aleksandar Mitrovic gave the Cottagers hope with a deflected effort

Preston boss Alex Neil was relieved to end a run of four defeats but was critical of defender Joe Rafferty for seeing red and making their victory over Fulham harder than it should have been.

Sean Maguire had ended the Lillywhites' 423-minute goal drought midway through the first half and they got a further boost when Fulham defender Dennis Odoi was dismissed for a reckless aerial challenge on Patrick Bauer.

Preston were in control but on the stroke of half-time Rafferty crashed into Joe Bryan with his foot up on the half-way line and left referee Keith Stroud with little option but to show another red.

Veteran David Nugent added Preston's second goal six minutes after half-time but Aleksandar Mitrovic's 16th of the season ensured an anxious finale.

Neil said: 'I was really disappointed with the red card. I thought it was rash and needless challenge by Joe. People always say that when one red card gets metered out, the referee always try to level it up but I don't think that was the case.

'Joe was just a bit rash in the challenge, he got himself sent off and it made it a 50-50 game again. That was disappointing but the rest of the lads worked doubly hard to ensure it didn't effect us.'

'Fulham are a good team and when both teams go down to 10 men, that pitch becomes massive and it was a bit like a basketball game with both teams going toe-to-toe. I thought it was an entertaining game with a lot of chances at both ends and thankfully we came out at the right end of it.'

Fulham boss Scott Parker was unhappy with his team's performance as their promotion bid suffered another setback following the weekend home defeat to Bristol City.

He said: 'We should have been better at both ends of the pitch really. I don't think defended the long ball that well. Every long ball seem to cause us a problem. We conceded sloppy goals. And on the flip side of that we got into some good attacking positions and got to the edge of their box well but we lacked quality in those areas. Both ends of the pitch we weren't good enough.'

Nugent's goal was a significant one as Preston climbed back into the top six. It was his first since returning in the summer for his second spell at the club. His previous one was 12 years ago when his first spell ended with a move to Portsmouth.

Fulham's Stefan Johansen hit the bar in the second half but Preston - who boast the Championship's best home record - wasted several chances to wrap up a more comfortable victory as they closed to within one point of the London club.



https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-7778603/Preston-2-1-Fulham-David-Nugent-scores-decisive-goal-sides-reduced-10-men.html

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David Nugent's goal and 'beating up' Mitrovic - what Alex Neil had to say after PNE beat Fulham

Preston climbed back into the Championship top six with victory at Deepdale on Tuesday night

Preston North End boss Alex Neil was delighted to see his side return to winning ways as goals from Sean Maguire and David Nugent gave them three points in a 2-1 win over Fulham.

The Championship clash saw ed cards for each side in the first half and ended a run of four straight defeats for PNE.

Maguire put North End in front midway through the first half with a sharp turn and finish before Denis Odoi was sent off for smashing into Patrick Bauer with his forearm.

At that stage it was advantage PNE but, after Ben Pearson escaped with a booking for a poor tackle on Josh Onomah, Joe Rafferty was sent off for a high lunge and it was 10-a-side.

North End got the crucial second when Nugent prodded home from close range after Marek Rodak had kept out Brad Potts' effort.

It was the striker's first Preston goal since he netted in a 4-0 win at Coventry in April 2007 during his first spell at Deepdale.

Aleksandar Mitrovic halved the deficit late on but it was too little too late for the Cottagers.

Here's what Neil made of it all.

How does it feel to have ended the losing run with a win?

"Relief, that is definitely the emotion. I think that always the emotion as a manager, you enjoy it for the first 10 seconds and then think we've got another one on Saturday.

"We needed that, there is nothing worse than when you go on a difficult run. The players were feeling it, I was feeling it because of the responsibility I have got.

"You want to win games for the fans, the club, the players.

"I thought we were great tonight. I thought we were really unfortunate against West Brom and we could easily have won that game as well but it is fine margins at this level. We were still missing quite a few key players but the lads who were on the pitch worked extremely hard."

Fulham are a good side as well?

"Fulham are a good side, their players are on fortunes and worth fortunes, but to be honest we deserved to win the game.

"In the second half had three or four golden opportunities to put the game to bed. We didn't take them which leaves you panicking and worrying towards the end.

"The referee played an extra minute over the six which also leaves you panicking but it was nice to get across the line.

"We needed another win on the board for a bit of belief for the players and everybody. But we are sitting sixth in the league and if anyone said that at the start of the season we would have snapped their hand off.

"It is just nice to get out of that rut, it has been difficult time over the last four games."
What did you make of David Nugent's performance?

"I thought he did far more than get his goal.

I thought he led the line well, his starting position was really good. He didn't play up against the centre-back so when they were going forward he dropped in and the loose balls that we were getting a toe to he was picking them up and we were countering.

"I thought he led the line in terms of physically I thought he did well. He does great for his goal - he gets up really aggressive and gets his goal.

"He was a great foil for us up front."

How good was the moment for Nugent?

"It is a little bit lost on me because I wasn't here but certainly for them and for him it was a special moment.

"He sort of made his name here as a young striker coming through before he got his move and there is nothing better than when someone who was great coming through and made his name then comes back and contributes.

"I think he has been a little bit frustrated with me in the last couple of games because he has not played but I thought he answered that tonight by putting in a really good strong performance and I am sure the fans enjoyed it as well."

Important to have someone of Patrick Bauer's calibre back and him and Paul Huntington played well?

"The reason I picked the two of them is because I thought they were perfectly suited to Mitrovic - someone big, strong, physical who wants to take it and flick things on and I put the two of them against him to go and try and beat him up and I thought they did."
What was the thinking behind Jordan Storey's omission?

"He was really unfortunate tonight because when I am picking my team I pick the best team that I think has a chance of winning the game and with the substitutes I pick the guys that need to cover the rest of the positions.

"So I was glad I did because in the end I needed to put Alan Browne in the middle and have a right back available and if Jordan was on the bench Tom Clarke couldn't have gone in there and it would have hampered the decisions so I will give myself a pat on the back for that."

Important to get a win for everybody given the recent run?

"It is. I think we have built an expectation up this season now so naturally the defeats feel sorer.

"I think the fans feel them worse because the expectation has been there because we have done really well so far

"All I will say is just be patient with us because we are finding it difficult with a lot of players missing at the moment.

"I still don't think the balance is quite right because we are missing that technician in the middle that helps us build. The balance at the back isn't there because I normally want to have two balanced centre backs so we can try and play through.

"There was one late on when Andrew Hughes plays it back to Paul Huntington on his left foot and he tries to put it up the line but he is not left footed so that natural balance makes a big difference I think.

"Once we have everybody available I think we will be strong."



https://www.lancs.live/sport/football/football-news/david-nugent-preston-goal-mitrovic-17398096

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Scott Parker bemoans Fulham defending and the ease of Preston North End's goals

Scott Parker has bemoaned the performance of his Fulham side and the ease of which Preston North End had for their goals.

Parker's high-flying Fulham side arrived at Deepdale having won four of their last five games whilst sitting third in the Championship.

Goals from Sean Maguire and David Nugent either side of half time put North End 2-0 up before Aleksandar Mitrovic made it a tense end with a goal on 82 minutes.

The Lilywhites defended resolutely, despite Fulham goalkeeper Marek Rodak coming up for the last corner of the game, to see the result out at 2-1.

Speaking after the game, Fulham boss Parker was complimentary of PNE, but also critical of the performance of his own men.

He said: "They (Preston) did well. We knew what we were coming to tonight, they've been on a bad run with four defeats and they wanted to turn that around.

"It was a good performance from them. They didn't have to work for their two goals too hard or do too much to earn them but it's one of them things, they've done well.

"The second goal was a poor goal really, it takes the breath out of us and kills our momentum but we finish the game strong. We finish the game huffing and puffing.

"It's not our day today.

"At both ends of the pitch I don't think we were good enough tonight.

"Defensively we gave away sloppy, cheap goals. I just felt at the top end of the pitch we lacked a real cutting edge.

"We got to the edge of the box pretty well, we got into the final third pretty well but lacked quality in that sense."

Aside from the three goals in the game, there could have also been tree red cards.

In the end, two were given, one to Fulham Denis Odoi for a late aerial challenge on Patrick Bauer and one to PNE's Joe Rafferty for a poor tackle on Joe Bryan.

Ben Pearson may also count himself lucky for only seeing a yellow card for what replays showed to be a two-footed tackle on Josh Onomah; the Fulham boss didn't see the lack of a third red card as a reason behind his sides defeat though.

"It looked a bad challenge from where I was standing at real time," Parker explained. "I haven't seen it back again.

"I just looked at it quickly and it seemed like a red, it was a two footed challenge and obviously two footed challenges are dangerous play.

"That's just one of them things.

"That isn't the reason it hasn't gone right for us tonight.

"In the end we huffed and puffed and hit the bar and we had some good opportunities, on another maybe we're walking out of here with a draw.

"Overall the feeling I have right now is disappointment."

"The facts are we go home empty-handed, we can't do anything about that tonight.

"Decisions and what's happened to this game are long gone now."



https://www.lep.co.uk/sport/football/preston-north-end/pne-news/scott-parker-bemoans-fulham-defending-and-the-ease-of-preston-north-end-s-goals-1-10148038