Ryan Lowe believes the point his Preston side gained in a 0-0 draw against Watford at Vicarage Road could still be a valuable one in securing a Sky Bet Championship play-off spot.
Lowe said: “We got a valuable point which hopefully will help us but I thought we did enough to win the game.
“At this stage of the season you need three points. We came here to win and had some great chances but we just didn’t have that clinical edge at the top edge of the pitch today.
“We had to make it a bit dogged because Watford have got some Premier League quality players. We had a goal threat, but just couldn’t put it in the back of the net.
“It’s been difficult all season, it’s not just now. All we have tried to do is stay in the top half of the division as long as we can.”
Lowe had a word of sympathy for central defender Richard Hughes, who missed Preston’s most glaring opportunity just before half-time when he skewed his shot so badly it almost went out for a throw-in.
Lowe added: “I’ve seen him score them in training, but in fairness he’s the left-sided centre-half and we have players who are more capable of putting the ball in the back of the net than he is. He was in the right area and on another day he would put it in.
“We had a discussion about it as we were coming off the pitch. He said: ‘I’ll be thinking about that chance.’ I don’t want that, though, because you can’t turn the clock back, can you?”
While Lowe and Preston continue to eye the play-offs with home fixtures to come this week against Huddersfield and Norwich – the club currently occupying the final play-off position – he is aware that other, larger Championship clubs are still involved in the relegation battle.
He explained: “It says a lot about where the club is that we are still looking up. For us, Preston North End, to still be in the mix with six games to try and get in the play-offs is a massive achievement.
“We’ve got two massive games coming up this week. And we’ve got an opportunity to get six points because we’re playing at home.”
For Watford, whose four-match unbeaten run under interim manager Tom Cleverley now appears to have secured their Championship status, it is all about next season.
He has impressed since taking over from Valerien Ismael but is mindful that Watford’s winless run at Vicarage Road now stretches to 11 league games.
Cleverley said: “No, I don’t take the result in the end. It’s not where I want us to be. That’s the honest answer.
“I would much rather three wins and one defeat than what we’ve got in these four games.
“We have to try and find the balance of going for the winner and not risking the loss.
“Maybe we were a bit conservative today. It’s about finding that balance in the team.
“I was a bit concerned thought we lacked that little bit of killer edge around the box. But the game just never really got any rhythm and we just could not sustain the pressure on them.
“We just didn’t have the answers to break them down so we will analyse that. It’s not a question of quality if you look at the players we had out there.
“It’s a question of mentality to keep banging on that door and having that ruthless edge. We have to make it happen because we still didn’t get that first home win of the year.
“The one thing I have felt is that the belief (is) coming back. We’re fearless now.”
Cleverley admitted that, although he feels comfortable in the dugout, becoming a manager was not in his thoughts when he first arrived at Watford as a teenager on loan from Manchester United.
He added: “Yes, I feel comfortable. I’ve got a lot of belief in myself.
“It’s not something that was on the horizon until I came back to the club as a 27-year-old, when I thought I had a role to play in developing and helping players.”
Europa Conference League: Aston Villa stunned by Olympiacos
Aston Villa were stunned by Olympiacos as they suffered a 4-2 home defeat in the Europa Conference League.
On what the Villa faithful hoped would be a famous night at Villa Park, they instead saw their team dispatched by their Greek opponents in the first leg of their semi-final encounter.
Ayoub El Kaabi scored a hat-trick for the visitors, who were 2-0 up inside 30 minutes on Thursday.
Ollie Watkins and Moussa Diaby struck either side of the interval to restore parity, but El Kaabi sealed his hat-trick from the penalty spot before Santiago Hezze added further gloss with a sensational finish. To add to Villa's misery, Douglas Luiz then missed a penalty late on.
In the other semi-final tie, Fiorentina took a 3-2 aggregate lead against Club Brugge.
M'Bala Nzola was Fiorentina's hero in stoppage time, scoring in the 91st minute to nudge the Serie A team ahead.
Hans Vanaken had scored from a penalty following a VAR check for handball in the 17th minute, cancelling out Riccardo Sottil's early opener, though Fiorentina restored their lead through Andrea Belotti before half-time in a frantic first half.
Thiago equalised for Brugge, but it was ultimately not enough.
Europa League: Wirtz and Andrich goals put Leverkusen on the brink, Marseille hold Atalanta
Bayer Leverkusen put one foot in the Europa League final as Florian Wirtz and Robert Andrich scored in Thursday's 2-0 semi-final first-leg win over Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.
Roma were masters of their own downfall as Wirtz opened the scoring after 28 minutes, Rick Karsdorp's horrible error allowing Alex Grimaldo to race into the area and tee up Wirtz to finish into an unguarded net.
Though Daniele De Rossi's hosts improved after the break, Andrich added a spectacular second with 73 minutes on the clock, the midfielder giving Mile Svilar no chance as he side-footed into the top-left corner from 25 yards out.
Roma should have pulled one back four minutes into stoppage time, but Tammy Abraham could only nod over from inside the six-yard box after a goalmouth scramble, and they now have it all to do in next week's second leg.
Leverkusen's unbeaten run for 2023-24 stands at 47 games across all competitions (39 wins, eight draws), and they are now overwhelming favourites to stamp their ticket to the final in Dublin.
The other semi-final tie remains in the balance at the halfway stage, with Atalanta being pegged back in a 1-1 draw with Marseille at the Stade Velodrome.
Having scored twice in La Dea's memorable win at Anfield in the last round, Gianluca Scamacca took in Teun Koopmeiners' pass before finishing low across goal 11 minutes in, but Gian Piero Gasperini's team couldn't hold on.
Chancel Mbemba was the unlikely goalscorer for Marseille, stepping out of defence to clip a 25-yard effort against the far post and in after 20 minutes.
Neither side could find a winner from there, meaning it's all to play for ahead of next week's return fixture at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo.
Orlando City v FC Cincinnati: Acosta hails visitors for absorbing punches
Luciano Acosta has hailed FC Cincinnati for coming through a testing period as they look to make it three straight wins in MLS play at Orlando City on Saturday.
After going unbeaten through their first six games of the season, Cincinnati suffered back-to-back 2-1 defeats against the New York Red Bulls and CF Montreal.
However, they have since bounced back with two wins over difficult opponents, seeing off Atlanta United and the Colorado Rapids by the same scoreline.
Acosta scored his 44th goal for Cincinnati – the most of any player in franchise history – in that latter game, and he believes their resilience has been key.
"I think it's just about our mentality," Acosta said. "We lost those two games and it was a bit of a punch that woke us up. But now it's about the mentality and getting back to it."
Head coach Pat Noonan said of Acosta: "I think what makes it more impressive is teams are going to try to prevent him from having an impact.
"When you're a key player and you're able to do what he's doing with the focus on stopping you in a lot of ways, that's what is unique."
Orlando, meanwhile, were beaten 2-1 by Toronto FC last week, halting their four-game unbeaten streak and dropping them to 13th in the Eastern Conference.
Forward Duncan McGuire felt the Lions should have taken maximum points from that game and is desperate to atone at Inter&Co Stadium.
"I definitely think we should've won," he said.
"I think how difficult this felt and how this feels for us right now is going to push us and motivate us to train hard all week, to get a win for the fans at home and get the job done."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Orlando City – Duncan McGuire
Maguire scored his fourth goal of the MLS season against Toronto last week – no other Orlando player has netted more than once in 2024.
Those goals have come from an expected goals (xG) figure of 2.7, with the United States international also attempting a team-high 27 shots this campaign.
FC Cincinnati – Luciano Acosta
Acosta has contributed to at least one goal in four straight MLS matches (one goal, three assists).
It is Acosta's fifth streak of four or more straight regular-season games with a goal contribution for Cincinnati, with Brandon Vazquez the only other player to achieve that feat for the team.
MATCH PREDICTION – ORLANDO CITY WIN
Orlando earned a win and a draw against Supporters' Shield winners Cincinnati last season, making them one of two teams (also the New England Revolution) to play Cincinnati twice in the 2023 regular season and not lose either match.
The Lions may just fancy their chances of another positive result against Noonan's men, who have only won one of their last three away games (one draw, one defeat).
Orlando have only lost two of their last 17 regular-season home matches dating back to last April, winning nine and drawing six, so viewers should expect a response to their loss last time out.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Orlando City – 49.3%
FC Cincinnati – 23.6%
Draw – 27.1%
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