How many more times Mr Laws?

Alongside the Fuller dive this one wouldn’t reckon but nobody outside Preston, other than the referee, as has yet made any suggestion that it was a correct decision but it stood and as always Graham Alexander netted from the spot.

We certainly hadn’t done enough to win this game and we were never able to take the game to Preston as we had done in the previous three away games but we defended well and it was cruel for them that we did concede.

There were more problems for Steve Cotterill ahead of the game with Micah Hyde being ruled out with an injury he sustained at Derby whilst there was no sign of a return for either of John McGreal or Frank Sinclair. That meant we played with four of Cotterill’s summer signings missing.

Ade Akinbiyi was never going to be fit for this one so it all meant a place on the bench for 16 year-old youth team striker Cayne Hanley with Mark Yates again on there.

If people were ready for the classic derby game they were to be disappointed and it was a poor ninety minutes overall as the Clarets’ patched up team failed to continue their recent good attacking form away from home.

Preston started the brighter but failed to create anything resembling a chance and the first two opportunities fell our way. Ian Moore had the first one but was closed down and then Jean-Louis Valois should have done much better than head straight at loan keeper Chris Day.

At the other end Brian Jensen made a super save as he got his angles all right when Richard Cresswell cut in from the right. He got it completely wrong shortly afterwards in a similar situation with Dave Nugent and the ball dropped nicely for Cresswell who blazed the ball high and wide.

“Taxi for Cresswell,” screamed the Burnley fans at the player who had already been making himself unpopular with his cheating and diving.

That really was about it in the first forty-five minutes that had 0-0 written all over it but Preston came out stronger after the interval.

Cayne Hanley - on the bench for the first time

We had to be at our best defensively as Preston put us under some real pressure but we stood firm with the two central defenders again in good form. You sensed that we might crack but eventually it started to get that bit easier.

There were even a couple of attacks as we looked to relieve the pressure but for long spells we were unable to get anything like enough possession.

Preston though had run out of ideas and were giving us nowhere near as much trouble and we could have even got ourselves in front, especially when Graham Alexander appeared to handle in his own box.

I’m not so sure but pound to a penny it would have been given at the other end. Ten minutes later the referee was pointing to the spot in what even the Preston biased Radio Lancashire described as a somewhat fortuitous spot kick and once Alexander had given them the lead there was no coming back.

Preston run the clock down, wasting just about half of the added on time making substitutions, and overall were probably just about worth their win.

If only we had played as well as in any one of the three previous away games, but we didn’t and were unable to put them under any pressure.

We certainly struggled on our left hand side where Mo Camara and Jean-Louis Valois had poor games but there were too many players off form this afternoon.

Not so the usual suspects and again I name Tony Grant as man of the match ahead of Gary Cahill.

Grant apart, the midfield was just not good enough and there’s no doubt we missed Micah. Hopefully he will be fit for Tuesday when we have this cup tie to play.

We’ll need to play better on Tuesday but at least the inept Graham Laws won’t be there. I wonder just how many more times we will have to put up with this dreadful referee. He’s cost us before and it looks as though he might just have cost us again today.

The teams were,

Preston: Chris Day, Graham Alexander (Claude Davis 90), Youl Mawene, Chris Lucketti, Callum Davidson, Chris Sedgwick, Paul McKenna, Brian O’Neil, Eddie Lewis, Dave Nugent, Richard Cresswell (Patrick Agyemang 90). Subs not used: Matt Hill, Dickson Etuhu, Andy Smith.

Burnley: Brian Jensen, Lee Roche, Gary Cahill, Michael Duff, Mo Camara, John Oster, Graham Branch, Tony Grant, Pete Whittingham, Jean-Louis Valois, Ian Moore. Subs not used: Danny Coyne, Paul Scott, Joel Pilkington, Mark Yates, Cayne Hanley.

Referee: Graham Laws (Whitley Bay).

Attendance: 18,202.