Preston North End assistant manager Glynn Snodin felt his side came up against a team at the top of their game at Craven Cottage.
Goals from Aluko, Martin and Kebano gave the Cottagers the three points, despite Tom Barkhuizen’s first goal for the club, marking his first start since his transfer window move from Morecambe.
And assistant boss Snodin felt the Lilywhites had come up against a team at the height of their powers: “I thought for 90 minutes they were fantastic,” said Snods. “How they play, the players they have and the budget they have got you know what to expect.
“They were on their ‘A’ game and today we needed a little bit of luck where your shots go in and where Maxi puts in a ten out of ten performance, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case.
“But the lads kept going and at 2-1 I thought we were back in it and I thought there was a chance there to get a point, but when you play against good players and good teams you know it will be tough.”
Barkhuizen’s goal reduced the deficit mid-way through the second half and the yellows were on top at that stage of the game, but against the run of play the home side grabbed a third that killed the game off once and for all, but the pacy attacker impressed on his first start.
“We were just getting a foothold in the game and then we got the goal, but credit to the boys we never gave up,” Glynn continued. “We never know when we are defeated now and we got back in it with a great ball from Geads and a good finish from Tom and we thought at that stage we could pinch a point.
“Tom did really well with his goal; it was a superb ball from Aiden to play him in and he finish it well. That pace helps. When you have that, especially high up the pitch, it is a great asset to have and he deserved his chance.
“Their third goal came against the run of play, but their pace on the counter-attack was nothing new to us. We had been hoping to keep that ball a little bit longer and get that finishing touch, but we didn’t and now we have to turn it round quickly and go again at Derby on Tuesday night.”
Despite the quality of the opposition the former defender acknowledged the dressing room were disappointed not to come away with something for the fans on Gentry Day.
“The dressing room is frustrated and disappointed, as everyone is when they are defeated, but there are things we can take in to Tuesday night.
“They should not feel down; what they have done all season has been excellent.
“The fans were fantastic today and it was disappointing not to get them a result on Gentry Day, but hopefully other than the result it was a great day out,” he added.
And assistant boss Snodin felt the Lilywhites had come up against a team at the height of their powers: “I thought for 90 minutes they were fantastic,” said Snods. “How they play, the players they have and the budget they have got you know what to expect.
“They were on their ‘A’ game and today we needed a little bit of luck where your shots go in and where Maxi puts in a ten out of ten performance, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case.
“But the lads kept going and at 2-1 I thought we were back in it and I thought there was a chance there to get a point, but when you play against good players and good teams you know it will be tough.”
Barkhuizen’s goal reduced the deficit mid-way through the second half and the yellows were on top at that stage of the game, but against the run of play the home side grabbed a third that killed the game off once and for all, but the pacy attacker impressed on his first start.
“We were just getting a foothold in the game and then we got the goal, but credit to the boys we never gave up,” Glynn continued. “We never know when we are defeated now and we got back in it with a great ball from Geads and a good finish from Tom and we thought at that stage we could pinch a point.
“Tom did really well with his goal; it was a superb ball from Aiden to play him in and he finish it well. That pace helps. When you have that, especially high up the pitch, it is a great asset to have and he deserved his chance.
“Their third goal came against the run of play, but their pace on the counter-attack was nothing new to us. We had been hoping to keep that ball a little bit longer and get that finishing touch, but we didn’t and now we have to turn it round quickly and go again at Derby on Tuesday night.”
Despite the quality of the opposition the former defender acknowledged the dressing room were disappointed not to come away with something for the fans on Gentry Day.
“The dressing room is frustrated and disappointed, as everyone is when they are defeated, but there are things we can take in to Tuesday night.
“They should not feel down; what they have done all season has been excellent.
“The fans were fantastic today and it was disappointing not to get them a result on Gentry Day, but hopefully other than the result it was a great day out,” he added.