Preston North End manager Alex Neil believes Wycombe were ‘better on the ball’ than his side, during Wanderers’ 1-0 win over PNE at Adams Park.
In a largely one-sided affair, Ryan Tafazolli scored the winner with a wonderful header in the first-half, in which he could have scored five times.
The defender had four headers with two going wide, one being saved by Daniel Iversen and of course, his goal, with the centre-back also trying his luck form 20-yards, but his effort went well over the bar.
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Uche Ikpeazu also tested the young Danish shot-stopper between the sticks, whilst Anis Mehmeti also had his effort go just wide via a deflection.
It was a dreadful first-half display from the visitors, who failed to test David Stockdale in the Wycombe goal.
Ryan Tafazolli (left) and Gareth Ainsworth (right) (PA)
They got better in the second-half, but Wanderers were the deserved winners, as they ended a run of four games without a win.
The Scotsman said: “I thought they [Wycombe] were hungrier than us.
“I thought they moved the ball better than us, I thought they won more duels, I thought they won more tackles, and if I am honest, we [Preston] didn’t compete anywhere near well enough in the first-half.
“We knew we had to be aggressive, physical, had to run, and the goal was soft, but the worrying thing for me was the lack of fight and competitiveness.”
It was the second time this season that Wycombe had beaten Preston at Adams Park.
The previous encounter was Wanderers’ 4-1 thrashing over North End in the third round of the FA Cup back on January 9.
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