Preston Away Lost 1 – 0

Posted on November 9, 2026 by John Smith

Scienza returned at Preston after missing out completely midweek and we soon had the familiar sight of an opponent (Mills) booked for a foul on the winger. However, and despite their bottom place in the league, the hosts dominated the opening stages, and beyond: clearly our management has to do something about these sluggish starts away from home and I suspect scouts have spotted a flaw – maybe we’re susceptible to a sustained press early on that seems to disconcert the whole team? Whatever the cause, it was an uncomfortable experience, literally so for Schlotterbeck who slipped as Saints tried to play out from the back and dislocated his shoulder in the fall. Wood somehow doesn’t make the squad these days so on came Abbott after a poor debut out of position less than a month earlier – he did OK in a more natural role, including a goal saving block from a late breakaway. Most of Abbott’s work, along with the rest of the defence, came in the first half, and, not for the first time, nor even the first time this week, After Moran had clipped the bar, a deserved home goal came on 33 minutes, courtesy of a volley from Thompson that swerved just inside the post for surely the finest goal he’ll get all season. Saints improved considerably after the break; in this case, though, it may also be that beleaguered Preston decided that their best option was to hunker down and see what their visitors could do. If that was the strategy, then possibly the most unlikely result of the Championship season thus far proves it to have been correct. Had Southampton scored, the laws of game momentum suggest they may well have gone on to win, but there weren’t that many clear chances, for all their possession – and there was an awful lot of possession! What would undoubtedly have helped was playing against just ten, and the highlights package shows that centre back Lindsay was extremely lucky to escape a first half second yellow card for a foul on Dobbin after the referee seemed to be playing advantage following a bad foul on Welington, but only the Welington tackle was punished with a caution and a free kick well away from the danger zone. Tonda tried Mubama for Dobbin and a move to a back three, but the closest Saints came to an equaliser were shots from Welington (from miles out) and Azaz, both of which seemed to hit goalkeeper Nicholls rather than being saved. We really miss Larin on days like this.