A second-half Ahmed Elmohamady own goal gave hosts Preston North End what most would call a largely deserved points from Aston Villa’s trip to Deepdale earlier this afternoon.
Looking to close out 2018 with another victory under head coach Dean Smith, it was a pretty balanced game and defeat for either side would’ve been harsh – even if we did slightly edge the telling statistics.
The only statistic that really counts though saw Tammy Abraham’s opener matched as the score ended 1-1 apiece.
With continued improvements expected and some new faces to improve our balance and depth, not least competition, there’s every reason for hope moving forward though even if the game was another disappointment.
We are sat in ninth place in the Championship table but we are only five points outside of the Play-Off spots, so the battle at the top of the table is fierce and tight, so if we show the improvements we know we are capable of, we’ll be more than in the mix when it counts.
Speaking to the BBC following the fulltime whistle, Smith explained.
“We did not deserve to win based on the amount of big chances that we gave away. I thought that defensively we weren’t great, and on the ball also. We played well in the first half in certain elements but every time we got forward, the ball was turned over and they created a chance. They created numerous chances with simple balls over the top and we didn’t deal with that. I know we have issues with defenders out injured and we had three right-backs playing, but we have to deal with this type of play better. They’ve had big chances but so have we, in the late stages. We had a great chance right at the end with Bjarnason, for example.”
Another Disappointing Draw But Still Reason For Hope At Aston Villa – Stats
