Ryan Lowe felt his Preston North End side’s dominant performance against Rotherham United was one of the best displays he has overseen as a manager with the only caveat of it failing to result in a victory.
The Lilywhites were dominant from start to finish, creating a plethora of opportunities throughout the contest which saw Daniel Johnson and Troy Parrott go close in the first half, and Emil Riis and Brad Potts hit the woodwork the second.
The goal ultimately would just not come, and while that was frustrating for the boss, it didn’t affect his view of the performance.
Ryan told iFollow PNE: “I said to the group in there, I’m proper proud of the group because they’re a fantastic group, they listen on a daily basis, they replicate what they do in training out there on a Saturday or a Tuesday evening, but all we’re missing is a couple of goals.
“What I will say is it’s not for the lack of trying. The performance tonight I thought warranted probably two or three wins, it was that good.
“Not disappointed, but frustrated we didn’t score, but it definitely wasn’t for the lack of trying. I thought they were fantastic. Everything they done, the application, the recovery runs, the runs for the passes, passing through the lines, was top drawer.”
He was pleased with the manner in which his side went about taking the game to their opponents.
“That’s how you play football and that’s how you want to try and win games of football and that’s what we were trying to do.
“Ultimately, we didn’t get one goal; I was expecting a goal to ricochet off someone because we’d scored a fantastic goal at the weekend and sometimes your luck will be a snapshot or an own goal or anything or just brushes off someone and goes into the net. It wasn’t for the lack of trying.
“All I will say is the performance was top, top drawer and you could see that. I thought the fans were fantastic, rallying us through to get us that goal, they seen it. Overall, pleased with the performance, a little bit frustrated with the result.
“That’s probably one of the best performances I’ve had as a manager, to an extent, but without winning. I see this group on a daily basis of what they’re trying to do and how they’re trying to get there is really pleasing. But ultimately, you have to turn those performances into wins.
“If you continue to keep performing like that, you’ll win more games of football than you’ll draw or you’ll lose.”
The attentions of Ryan and his players now turn to the second of this week’s Deepdale double header with the visit of Rob Edwards’ Watford to PR1 on Saturday.
“Rob has done a fantastic job since he’s gone in there,” Ryan continued.
“They’ve come down from the Premier League, they’re doing well as we speak, but ultimately, they’re coming on our turf and what we’ve got to do is if we can replicate what we’ve done today and keep creating chances.
“I’m sure Rob will respect us and what we’re doing, we’ll certainly respect them for what them they’ve been doing and how they’ve been going about their business. We’re looking forward to an entertaining game.”
Watch Ryan’s post-match thoughts in full on iFollow PNE.