Whether Palace manager Peter Taylor was exaggerating the quality of his opponents to put his own team’s performance in a better light or talking about a Preston team of an earlier game is uncertain. “We were playing a very good team,” he said, and described Nugent as “a Premiership player, very strong and works hard, but today we managed to keep him quiet.” To be honest, Preston only came close to clinching a goal once when a Brett Ormerod shot took a tricky deflection near the close. Taylor seized on it.
“In the last three games we’ve improved each time, but then they had that deflection at the end that nearly went in. That’s the kind of crazy chance that has been going in against us all season.”
The difference in confidence between the sides was apparent for the opening 15 minutes. Palace put themselves under pressure at the back through poor concentration, with both Tom Soares and Mark Kennedy culpable. Down the right, Whaley posed a threat but it did not last and in the second half the former Bury man, who has been one of Preston’s best finds, faded markedly.
Matt Hill’s twisted ankle resulted in a substitution and a loss of fluency for Preston. Manager Paul Simpson admitted that Hill’s hamstring problems caused him to shuffle the pack, with Danny Pugh dropping back to cover, and maybe had an effect on the outcome. What you could not fault was Simpson’s overall summation.
“I thought that defensively we were excellent, but it didn’t happen for us up front. Perhaps what happened today could be down to Palace coming up with a good game plan and sticking to it. I always tell the lads that the league table doesn’t lie, but on this occasion it does.” A drive by Preston’s Paul McKenna’s at the end of the first half was the nearest either side came to scoring, which spoke much for the stalemate the match soon became.
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It appeared that Nugent had received a half-time message that the game was there for the taking and he began to move inside from what had been a wide role. He immediately looked threatening and one solo run against five defenders ended with a useful strike. Palace hit back with Jobi McAnuff’s runs stretching Preston at the back. For spells of the second half it was as if the league positions had been reversed and it was scarcely credible that the Lancashire men were vying for the league leadership.
Preston emphasised their commitment to route one by throwing substitute Danny Dichio into the mix in place of Whaley in the last 10 minutes. The pretty build-up of the early stages were abandoned as this switch was tantamount to an admission of tactical bankruptcy.
Darren Ward and Mark Hudson had given a sterling second-half performance at the back for Palace and perhaps it was this, more than any lack of form, that stunted Nugent’s performance.
Star Man: Jobi McAnuff (Crystal Palace)
Player Ratings. Preston: Nash 6, Alexander 6,St Ledger 7, Chilvers 6, Hill 6 (L Neal 24min, 7), Whaley 7 (Dichio 81min, 5), Sedgwick 5, McKenna 7, Pugh 7, Agyemang 7 (Ormerod 61min, 6), Nugent 6
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Crystal Palace: Turner 7, Granville 6, Ward 7, Hudson 7, Butterfield 6, Hughes 7, Soares 5, Kennedy 6, McAnuff 8, Scowcroft 5 (Kuqi 69min, 5), Morrison 5 (Freedman 73min, 5)
Referee: U Rennie
Attendance: 14,202