RUDD: TOM’S BARK WORSE THAN BITE

TOM BARKHUIZEN’S Preston team-mates came to his defence over a challenge that landed him a red card.

Stoke boss Michael O’Neill was adamant referee Matt Donohue got it right in sending off Barkhuizen following a 22nd-minute clash with Matt Donohue (above).

But Barkhuizen seemed to slip just before contact, Preston will appeal against his dismissal and North End keeper Declan Rudd was adamant it “looked worse than it was”.

“Barky isn’t that type of player,” he added. “He slipped, but the ref said it was dangerous. The ref has a hard job to do and he has to react. It’s a tough one.”

Potters striker Lee Gregory gave Rudd no chance on 39 minutes when he tucked home from close range following a super set-up by new signing John Obi Mikel.

Missed second-half opportunities followed for City. Skipper Sam Clucas was one-on-one with Rudd, but allowed the keeper to smother the ball at his feet. Then Steven Fletcher’s audacious flicked effort hit the bar.

That left O’Neill criticising his team’s wastefulness, but he added: “Up against 10 men it’s difficult at times, because teams commit bodies forward and you have to deal with long balls.”

Preston have just a point from their three league outings, but striker Sean Maguire was looking for positives. “We had a game plan to go out and stop them, and I felt in the first 20 minutes it was going to plan,” he said. “But we didn’t plan to go down to ten men after 22 minutes.”

PRESTON: Rudd 7, Storey 6 (Hughes 59, 6), Bauer 6, Davies 6, Barkhuizen 5, Ledson 7 (Rafferty 80), Pearson 6, Browne 7, Sinclair 7 (Potts 70, 6), Stockley 7, Maguire 6

STOKE: Davies 7, Chester 6, Souttar 6, Fox 6, Smith 6, Mikel 7, OakleyBoothe 6 (Thompson 85), Clucas 7, McClean 6 (Tymon 64, 6) Gregory 8, Fletcher 7 (Brown 76)