Set-piece worry for Albion boss

Albion manager Tony Mowbray admitted his side's failure to defend set-pieces had cost them dear – but insisted they should still have won at Deepdale.

The Baggies boss was disappointed to see his side beaten by two free headers at Deepdale.

But he still reckoned they created enough chances to have left Lancashire with some reward.

"We played reasonably well," said Mowbray.

"We had plenty of chances, didn't take them and got punished.

"Our inability to defend set-plays cost us as well.

"Any manager in the country probably complains about their team not defending set-plays properly so we're not alone in that.

"Set-plays are part and parcel of football and teams work very hard on them.

"We try to work very hard on stopping teams scoring against us but it's frustrating when they do.

"It shouldn't really matter tonight with the chances we created.

"But you give Preston credit for sticking at the game and they got their rewards in the end."

Mowbray was full of praise for his team's overall display and insisted his side had rarely been broken down.

But he admitted more work is needed on defending dead balls.

"We were the team in the ascendancy from start to finish," he said.

"They obviously had threats from dead-ball situations and the odd counter-attack.

"You can play a team from any division but, if you can't defend set-plays and give goals away, you'll end up chasing games and leaving yourself vulnerable to counter-attacks.

"That was the case here.

"I couldn't really see Preston scoring against us after their opener.

"I was very confident we would score with the numerous chances we were creating.

"Our Achilles heel at the moment came back to bite us.

"They tended to get the first contact on the ball from set-plays and that's something we've worked long and hard on at the training ground.

"We're still suffering from it and we've got to put it right otherwise any team in any league will give us problems."

Preston manager Alan Irvine was a happy man after seeing his team collect their fourth win in five matches.

And he was especially pleased that the latest victory came against the side he regards as one of the best in the Championship.

Irvine said: "It was a great performance, there was a great shape about the team, we were really disciplined, really well organised, everybody was doing their jobs properly, everyone was filling in for each other. We knew what a test it would be.

"They're definitely one of the best teams in the division and a team who can open you up if you aren't properly organised and not disciplined in how you do the job.

"It was a fantastic performance when they had the ball and we had some really good spells ourselves. We've hit the post when we could have made it 2-0 and we've had one or two other opportunities.

"We knew having scored early that West Brom would come at us, they're not where they are in the league for nothing and we knew at times that we would have to weather the storm and we did that."