We never give in, says Neil as Preston hit back to beat Hull
Posted Sunday, February 04, 2018 by PA
Alex Neil praised Preston’s resilience as they ground out a hard-fought 2-1 win over relegation-threatened Hull.
A Greg Cunningham effort and an Alan Browne penalty saw Preston come from behind after Jarrod Bowen had given Hull the lead, moving the hosts to within two points of the play-off places.
Neil accepted North End were far from at their best, but felt they showed character to battle back to claim the three points.
He said: “I think at this stage of the season, winning the game is more important than performances at times. Having said that I thought we didn’t start the game well and it took us a while to understand what the game was going to be about.
“The good thing that we have as a team and a club is that we are really resilient. We never give in. They got the first goal, but at that point I think lesser teams give up to an extent. We didn’t do that.
“It’s not something I wouldn’t expect from my team. Knowing my guys it’s exactly what I expect of them. To do it so regularly just speaks volumes of the kind of people they are.”
Hull took the lead after 29 minutes as a slick team move set Bowen free and his strike from the right edge of the area deflected off Cunningham and beyond Declan Rudd.
Preston responded quickly and were level after 36 minutes. Paul Gallagher whipped a corner in from the right and defender Cunningham powered a header from 12 yards back across goal into the far corner.
And Neil’s side were ahead in first-half stoppage-time. Billy Bodin, making his home debut, had a fierce effort pushed away by Allan McGregor before he burst forward again and was adjudged to have been brought down in the area by Fraizer Campbell.
Browne stepped up and slotted straight down the middle to put Preston in front at the break.
It was all one-way traffic in the second half, with Preston looking for a third goal to kill the game.
It almost came after 65 minutes when Browne’s low cross found Robinson at the near post, but he was denied at point-blank range by McGregor.
Hull’s winless streak in the Championship was extended to nine matches and Nigel Adkins’ side remain in the relegation zone.
Adkins said: “I’ve got to keep leading from the front and trying to get the best from my players.
“We started the game well against a good Preston side, we were on the front foot and nullified lots of the strengths that they have.”
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