World News – GB – Preston North End 0 Cardiff City 1 – Match report on another Deepdale loss for the Lilywhites

Ojo, on loan from Liverpool, struck in the 52nd minute as the Bluebirds quickly turned the defense into an attack on

North End lacked ideas of attack and invention to find an equalizer, chances of breaking Cardiff’s blue wall are rare

The best opportunity fell to replace Jayden Stockley late in the game, but he sent a point blank header straight to the goalkeeper

It was so disappointing from PNE, after such an aggressive offensive performance at Brentford last time around

They found Cardiff skipper Sean Morrison in a dominant mood at the back, with the center-half winning all his battles

That said, the home team rarely tested him on the ground or with large numbers in the box

So this one went the same way as Swansea and Stoke’s visits to Deepdale this season

Alex Neil stayed with the team that started the 4-2 win in Brentford a fortnight ago

Alan Browne was granted medical clearance to play as the midfielder had to self-isolate from the middle of the international break after being seen as close contact with a Republic of Ireland who had tested positive for Covid-19

Daniel Johnson has returned to the squad as a substitute after being absent for groin strain

The first half was typical championship forage, a lot of effort on both sides without much quality

Junior Hoilett got the first chance in the game, missing a shot and scooping it over the bar after Morrison’s knockdown

North End midfielder Brad Potts threw a free kick into the Cardiff wall in the 14th minute as Sean Maguire suffered a foul by Jordi Osei-Tutu

Maguire hit an instant shot too close to goaltender Alex Smithies after bonding well with Scott Sinclair

Cardiff had a good spell of possession and pressure midway through the first half and looked the most threatening for a while

Leandro Bacuna’s 20-yard shot was comfortably handled by Declan Rudd, the halftime visitors’ best chance of hitting Kieffer Moore’s path in the 32nd minute

Osei-Tutu put the ball on his left foot and scored a right-wing cross that Moore passed over Patrick Bauer to meet, but went over the bar at seven meters

Greg Cunningham’s return to Deepdale was short-lived, with the former PNE left-back limping before half an hour had been played

North End rallied as the interval approached, forcing a few turns

In the 45th minute, Maguire’s good work played against Andrew Hughes who saw a blocked shot The rebound found its way to Potts who hit a low shot that Smithies saved

Cardiff broke the deadlock seven minutes into the second half with a counterattack that saw them go from club to club

The visitors emptied their box, breaking four on two with Moore leading the charge in the middle

He played Ojo on the overload to his right, the winger taking the ball into the box and hitting the roof of the net above Rudd

North End rarely seemed to create an EQ from that point on, except for a few late headers

Tom Barkhuizen came off the bench to replace Potts, with forwards Emil Riis, then Stockley featured as PNE led 4-4-2

Creativity and craftsmanship were sorely lacking, you wonder if Johnson or Paul Gallagher could have made a difference rather than just sitting on the bench

Sinclair had a Browne’s first shot saved by Smithies, with the ball going straight to the keeper

Two chances fell on Stockley’s path in the final minutes, the first seeing him dive forward to meet Browne’s cross, but he couldn’t get direction on his head and he traveled far. p>

Then in the 88th minute, Ben Davies put in a peach from a center from the left – probably PNE’s best delivery the entire game – and Stockley was only able to walk straight to the keeper from six meters

PNE: Rudd, Rafferty, Bauer, Davies, Hughes, Pearson, Ledson (Stockley 76), Potts (Barkhuizen 60), Browne, Sinclair, Maguire (Riis 67) Subs (not used): Johnson, Gallagher, Storey, Ripley

Cardiff: Smithies, Osei-Tutu (Bamba 76), Morrison, Nelson, Cunningham (Wilson 29), Bacuna, Pack, Ralls, Ojo (Vaulks 78), Hoilett, Moore Subs (not used): Glatzel, Murpohy, Benkovic, Phillips

Cardiff City FC, Preston North End FC, EFL Championship, Sheyi Ojo, Neil Harris