Preston assistant boss Stuart MCall felt the result was better than the performance after his team’s 2-1 win at struggling Oxford.
Jordan Storey and Daniel Jebbison scored North End’s goals to make it just one defeat in 10 Championship games for the Lillywhites, with Brian De Keersmaecker pulling one back for the U’s.
McCall stood in for media duties with manager Paul Heckingbottom serving a touchline ban, but felt Preston could have done more for their money.
“Today the result was better than the performance,” he said.
“I think we were a bit patchy, but you have to look at Oxford’s record against the big boys here, it’s a difficult place to come and they load the ball in your box.
“The timing of that second goal straight after half-time was important, though we’d have liked it much better had we not given a goal away straight after.
“But, yes, that second goal was a nicely worked goal, good football, good goal.
“Then their goal soon after was a great strike by the lad, fair play to the boy. That was annoying because it came from our throw-in, we gave it away cheaply.
“We talk about that a lot. A lot of goals come from throw-ins, just as much as corners – as Oxford themselves know – but we gave it away cheaply.
“It could have been a little bit more comfortable had we not conceded straight away but that second one was a good time to score.
“I always think it’s a worry when you’ve got someone like Will (Vaulks) hurling the long ones in, and we were without Liam Lindsay who was suspended. He’s one of those that gets his head on everything.
“Dan (Iversen) had a couple of good saves but we expect that of him now, he’s a good goalkeeper.
“I’ve had a chat with Paul (Heckingbottom) afterwards and he’s delighted with the win, naturally. I’ve told him he’s got to start behaving because I need him back out on the touchline!”
Oxford head coach Gary Rowett admitted he partly blamed himself for the defeat.
“Looking back at the starting formation, I probably got that wrong and I take responsibility for that,” he said.
“We didn’t do enough in the first half with that system. I kept the continuity in some areas and made some changes to get a little more creativity in some areas but it didn’t quite work.
“It was a very winnable game for us and that’s what adds to the frustration. They’re in and around the top because they do the right things consistently in games. We keep just doing the wrong things in games and that’s the challenge for us.
“When you concede poor goals, it makes it so difficult. Teams don’t need a helping hand. They get a free header back post for the first one. The second goal is just a little bit of movement around the box from wide players which we just need to deal with.
“We dominated possession after that and the stats. We had 24 shots with eight on target and I think they’ve had two shots on target, two goals. That’s been the difference in the game.
“Small margins tend to go against us rather than go for us. We’re also lacking a little bit of belief compared to last season and it’s my job to find an answer to that.”
