Ryan Lowe felt it just wasn’t his side’s night in the 1-0 defeat at home to Sheffield Wednesday.
PNE fell behind in a first half of few chances, with Marvin Johnson opening the scoring in the 27th minute for the visitors, who sit in the division’s drop zone.
From that point on, it was the Lilywhites who saw the majority of the ball and tried to level proceedings, coming closest through Liam Millar who struck the bar from the edge of the area in the second period.
On his feelings of the night, Ryan said: “Probably the biggest thing is frustration. I thought the lads did everything they possibly could to try and get a goal.
“We crossed the ball from different areas. We maybe could have got a bit closer in or for pullbacks had more players getting across the box.
“I think we’ve had 39 crosses into their penalty area. Fair play to Sheffield Wednesday they’ve put their bodies on the line; they’re fighting for points.
“I’m disappointed with the first goal in the first half. Could we have dealt with that better? Yeah, we could have.
“We had some good moments in there. Decisions maybe [could have been better] although I’m not looking for excuses.
“It just wasn’t our night tonight to get the ball into the back of the net.”
Not only was the manager left frustrated with the match itself, but even more so following the superb performance and victory over Leeds United on Boxing Day.
He was hoping his side would be able to build on those three points, but it wasn’t to be.
Ryan said: “You take a step forward and then two steps back, that’s what we’ve done.
“We felt, without being disrespectful to Sheffield Wednesday, that it was a good opportunity for us to get another three points tonight.
“The lads believed in that, we believed in that. Sheffield Wednesday came with a shape and a plan, and was their goal part of that plan? Probably not, but it was sort of gifted if you like.
“We could have done better with it. They sat in and let us have large parts of the ball.”
While disappointed with the result, one definite positive of the night was the long-awaited return from injury of Emil Riis.
The striker – injured on the opening match of the year – returned in the final encounter of 2023, coming on as a second-half substitute.
“I’m absolutely over the moon for him,” Ryan said.
“He was buzzing when I told him yesterday he was going to be on the bench because it was supposed to be Sunderland game. He was going to travel with us and maybe be on the bench.
“I told him yesterday and he was over the moon so I’m really pleased to have him. A big positive.
“He nearly had a chance as well. The ball came across and maybe if he was a tiny bit quicker he might have got across and kneed it in.
“I’m pleased for him because he’s worked so hard the last 12 months with the operation.
“He’s been training like a real good pro the last four weeks so I’m really pleased to see him back.”