A happy return to Home Park for Preston Manager Ryan Lowe as he haunts his former side with a resilient 0-1 victory. Liam Millar’s superb first half strike was the difference maker in a game tight on quality and chances. Here is how the game unfolded.
A cagey first half saw both teams lacking a cutting edge. Argyle started off strongly immediately getting the ball into the Preston box, then again moments after when Ryan Hardie was sent through down the left flank, however he sent his shot high and wide. Injury struck twice for the away side as Milutin Osmajic and Brad Potts were made to give way for Liam Millar and Layton Stewart respectively. The former squandered a great chance when he found himself on the end of a looping ball with just the keeper to beat.The middle portion of the first half saw a lot of loose passes from both sides with neither team able to get a grip on the game. This continued until Preston substitute Liam Millar got on the end of Will Keane’s glancing header, and coolly fired home across the face of the goal to break the deadlock. A late spell of pressure during the eight-minutes added time saw a Morgan Whittaker cross find Mustapha Bundu unmarked, however he could not keep his headed effort down, which left the Pilgrims trailing after the first forty-five.
Preston came quickly out of the blocks for the second half with a succession of attacks down the right hand-side. Argyle responded well with some good plays of their own, largely coming through Morgan Whittaker. A much more lively start to this half with both sides creating a couple of half-chances as the game continued to go end-to-end. Argyle had a penalty claim turned down when Adam Randall appeared to go down just inside the box, which resulted in a counter attack from the away side that saw Will Keane inches away from tapping the ball into the net, following more great play down the right. Argyle again claimed for a penalty in the seventy-first minute, after a challenge on Lino Sousa as Argyle continued to pile on the pressure.The home side were firmly on top as the game approached the eighty fifth minute mark. A decent chance as Whittaker danced his way past several Preston players and then found Sousa on the right, who squared the ball to Ryan Hardie, whose shot was deflected behind. Argyle continued to press hard for an equaliser as the game entered its final stages but their efforts were not rewarded as Ryan Lowe’s Preston stood firm for the 0-1 victory.
This result saw Argyle drop one place to 18th in the table, a mere two points off the drop zone, whilst Preston move up a single spot to 9th, just five points off the playoff spots, with a game in hand.