Report: Saints fall to shock defeat at Preston

Bottom-of-the-table Preston North End chalked up just their second league win of the season at Saints’ expense courtesy of a first-half volley from Jordan Thompson.

The visitors were well below par in a first period that also saw Keven Schlotterbeck withdrawn with a shoulder injury, before Saints found Preston keeper Lee Nicholls in inspired form after the break.

Nicholls twice kept out Leo Scienza before miraculous saves thwarted Welington’s long-rage rocket and Finn Azaz’s deflected strike as Saints lay siege on the home goal but could not find a way through.

Tonda Eckert made three changes to his side that battled back from a difficult first half to earn a point at West Brom in midweek, extending Saints’ unbeaten run to six matches.

The head coach welcomed back Scienza from injury, while there were also starts for Welington and Lewis Dobbin, who made his first return to Deepdale after scoring 11 goals for Preston on loan from Aston Villa last season.

Ryan Manning, Samuel Edozie and Divin Mubama all dropped to the bench, while Cyle Larin and Caspar Jander remained sidelined ahead of the upcoming international break.

Both sets of players observe a minute's silence ahead of kick-off, as the travelling Saints fans watch on

Preston came into the game with only one win to their name in 15 Championship games so far this season, and were dealt an early blow when Stanley Mills went into the book inside three minutes for bringing down Scienza on the left touchline.

But it was Saints who would suffer from a slow start, just as they had at The Hawthorns in midweek. Andrew Moran and Alfie Devine both saw shots blocked, while there were loud appeals for a penalty following a barge in the box by Scienza, before Schlotterbeck was forced off with only 11 minutes on the clock.

The German central defender, an ever-present since his arrival at the end of August, fell awkwardly following a pass out from goalkeeper Daniel Peretz – an incident from which Preston nearly profited, before Schlotterbeck was replaced by Zach Abbott, with Nathan Wood not named in the matchday squad.

The loss of Schlotterbeck to a shoulder injury did nothing to help Saints settle, as the underdogs continued to grow in confidence.

When Jack Stephens was caught in possession, Devine should have put Preston ahead as he raced through on goal, but Peretz saved crucially with an outstretched right foot.

A matter of seconds later, Moran let fly from 30 yards and clipped the crossbar, as the hosts continued to try their luck from long range.

Saints lost influential centre-back Keven Schlotterbeck to a shoulder injury early on

It was from that route that Thompson brilliantly volleyed the Lilywhites into a deserved lead after 33 minutes.

When Moran’s shot from distance was blocked, James Ward-Prowse’s clearing header dropped perfectly for Thompson to strike, beating Peretz low to his left with a textbook dipping volley.

Saints nearly summoned an immediate response when Azaz’s attempted curler flew just past Nicholls’ left-hand post, but it seemed to take falling behind to spur the visitors into life.

The goal came shortly after Dobbin had been held back by former teammate Liam Lindsay for a clear booking, and Saints were incensed when Lindsay avoided a second yellow five minutes later.

Referee Tom Nield initially played the advantage when Scienza was hacked down by Preston skipper Andrew Hughes, before Dobbin raced clear of Lindsay, who again held him back quite blatantly.

The Preston defender must have feared the worst, but Nield went back to book Hughes as Lindsay inexplicably avoided further punishment.

Saints were finally looking more like their usual selves when six added minutes were signalled at the end of the first half.

A trademark Azaz pass in behind the defence fed the run of Scienza, who jinked inside the last defender but shot tamely with his left foot straight into the grateful grasp of Nicholls.

Welington's fierce shot was somehow kept out by a miraculous save

Eckert resisted the urge to make any half-time changes, but his side nearly found themselves 2-0 down immediately after the restart when former Saint Thierry Small sliced wide from a very presentable opening as the visitors failed to deal with a long ball into the box.

Back came Saints, as Scienza kept getting himself into the right areas and testing Nicholls in the Preston goal.

Chances for the Brazilian kept falling to his left foot; one was driven high and had to be tipped over, before another clever Azaz pass was met by a first-time shot on the turn that lacked the necessary power to beat Nicholls.

Instead the keeper was called upon to make a far more spectacular stop to deny another Brazilian, as Welington’s ferocious drive through a crowded penalty area was somehow repelled by a stunning reflex save, particularly if the shot took a slight deflection on the way through.

Nicholls’ heroics continued to frustrate Saints, as Azaz combined superbly with Dobbin and dummied his way into a shooting position only to see his driven strike take a wicked deflection that the veteran reacted impressively to keep out.

Eckert turned to his bench with 75 minutes on the clock, as Edozie and Manning were summoned to offer more attacking thrust from wide, before Mubama replaced Dobbin for the final 10 minutes.

Saints pushed and pushed for at least a point, but Preston held firm for an unlikely victory, leaving Eckert’s side having to stew on an avoidable defeat for the next two weeks.

Preston North End: Nicholls, Offiah, Lindsay, Hughes (c) (Wiley 64), Mills (Nolan 64), Moran, Thompson, Vukčević (Storey 88), Small, Lang (Burgzorg 71), Devine (Docherty 71).

Subs not used: Iversen, Irwin, Potts, Erabi.

Goal: Thompson (33’).

Booked: Mills, Lindsay, Hughes, Small.

Southampton: Peretz, Bree (Edozie 75), Stephens (c), Schlotterbeck (Abbott 11), Welington (Manning 75), Ward-Prowse, Downes, Matsuki, Azaz, Scienza, Dobbin (Mubama 80).

Subs not used: Long, Roerslev, Bragg, Williams, Fellows.

Referee: Tom Nield.

Attendance: 15,746 (2,524 Saints fans).