Louis Moult felt North End executed their game plan extremely well tonight after a controversial penalty denied the Lilywhites all three points.
Alex Neil opted for a specific game plan tonight with the manager deciding on a 4-4-2 system where Moult partnered Callum Robinson up front this evening, and Moult felt North End worked smart as well as hard which was largely thanks to their pre-match preparations and sticking to their plan of action.
Moult said: “It shows how far we’ve come. I’ve only been here for a short while obviously but we’re disappointed there. On the whole, when you look back at that, that’s a great point, and the performance, more so than the point was massive today. Every man dug in for the man next to him, and the spirit was brilliant.
“We silenced the crowd and they were starting to get on their players backs because of our performance and the fact our game plan worked. We ran for every ball today but we did it with a brain, we were clever and we stuck to the game plan and it worked.
“There’s ways to work hard and I thought we stuck to the game plan which the gaffer gave us and it worked.
“Other than long range efforts, they’ve not really tested Dec. The decision's very soft. At the other end, John Terry pulls Callum down outside of the box, we would want a free kick there really but the officials have got a tough job but we didn’t let that affect us, we dug in and got a good point.”
Tonight’s game was Moult’s first league start since joining the club in January, and speaking to iFollow after the game, Moult was relatively pleased from an individual point of view as well as collectively with how well tonight went.
“We like that underdog status and we play that to our advantage because we all believe in ourselves and it’s a good point,” assessed Moult.
I’m delighted that the gaffer has put his trust in me to start me tonight - against Villa away because it’s a massive game and I’m thankful for that.
’d like to think I’ve done my bit tonight and I’ve worked hard. I’ve had to be patient, I would have liked a goal tonight but as long as the performances and starts come, I’m sure the goals will come.
“I understand where I’m at. The boys have done fantastically well all season and it’s difficult to come into a team when they’ve been performing so well, so like I say I’ve just got to keep my head down, continue to work hard and I’m sure it will work out.”
Watch Louis' interview on iFollow now