Preston continued their solid start to the Championship campaign with a 0-0 draw at the New York Stadium against Rotherham who, as a result, picked up their first point of the Championship campaign.

The first half was a fairly drab affair as the two sides cancelled each other out. The Millers looked nervy after back to back defeats to start the campaign whilst Preston looked very well organised defensively. In a half of few chances it was Matt Derbyshire who went the closest to breaking the deadlock. Lewis Buxton did brilliantly on the right flank, making his way past two North End defenders before delivering an inviting ball across the box, which Derbyshire failed to convert.

Both teams sensed the opportunity to win the game in the second half and were a little more adventurous. Despite looking a threat thoughout the half, the Millers never really threatened Pickford in the North End goal. It was Preston who almost won the game with 13 minutes remaining. A Paul Gallagher corner was met by the head of Bailey Wright, but he could only look on as his looping header bounced back off the crossbar. In the end a draw was probably the right result. Both teams will take positives from the clean sheet, although I’d say they’ll probably need to work on their attacking play.

Rotherham United

Kelle Roos: After a difficult start to his loan spell with the Millers, a clean sheet will have done Roos the world of good. Still looked a little unconvincing at times when coming for the ball though. 6.0
Lewis Buxton: Built on a strong performance at Forest with a solid display at right back. He also looked very dangerous on the overlap. 7.5
Danny Collins: Thought he and Halford marshalled the defence well and did a good job keeping Will Keane out of the game. 7.0
Greg Halford: Similarly to Collins, kept Joe Garner quiet. 7.0
Joe Mattock: Another who I thought looked solid, building on a strong debut at the weekend. Tired towards the end but when fully fit he’ll be a very capable player for the Millers. 7.0
Joe Newell: Offered a little bit of energy in the middle of the park and was accurate with his passing. Solid if not spectacular. 6.5
Richard Smallwood: Didn’t really offer the type of performance we’ve become accustomed to seeing from Smallwood. I thought he gave the ball away far too much. 6.0
Lee Frecklington: Seemed low on confidence last night, didn’t offer his usual spark in midfield. 6.0
 Chris Maguire: Did well in patches, looked a threat with the ball to his feet. Drifted in and out of the game. 6.5
Jordan Bowery: Wasn’t brilliant by any stretch of the imagination. Looks very poor in the air and didn’t really offer much of a threat going forward. It must be said though he filled in admirably for Mattock when needed. 6.0
Matt Derbyshire: Was always going to be tough for him up against three centre backs and it showed, he huffed and puffed but had very little impact. 6.0

Substitutions

Jonson Clarke-Harris: Looked a real threat when he came on, frightened Preston’s defence with his pace and power. Squandered his big chance though when the ball dropped to him just outside the box and he blazed it over. Overall however the Millers looked much more of an attacking threat when he came on. 6.5
Paul Green: Came on late and offered little going forward, did a decent job defensively though it must be said. Not really sure why he gets so much stick on social media from fans, I think he does a solid job when he plays. 6.0
 Aidy White: Offered pace to the left side when he came on and got himself into some decent positions. Looked a major threat. 6.5

Preston North End

Jordan Pickford: Didn’t really have any saves to make, but looked highly composed when coming for crosses and organising his defence. 6.0
Tom Clarke: Reasonably solid at the back and very composed on the ball. Some very good last ditch clearances too. 7.0
Bailey Wright: Like Clarke he was very solid and composed. Almost won it at the end with a header which hit the bar. 7.0
Paul Huntington: Another solid performance, completing a very good display from Preston’s centre-back trio. 7.0
Chris Humphrey: Looked a threat in stages, but also drifted out of the game at times. 6.5
Paul Gallagher: Showed great composure on the ball and delivered some dangerous set pieces.  7.0
John Welsh: Midfield general. Rarely lost a tackle or misplaces a pass. 7.0
Daniel Johnson: Wasn’t too impressed with him, thought he offered very little to the side and was largely quiet throughout. 6.0
Greg Cunningham: Defensively solid, nothing special going forward though. 6.5
Will Keane: Didn’t get any chances, was marshalled out of the game. 6.0
Joe Garner: Like Keane, didn’t really have an impact and was marked out of the game. 6.0

Substitutions

Marnick Vermijl: Came on with 20 minutes to go and had little impact. 6.0
Neil Kilkenny: Looked fairly composed on the ball and did quiet well halting Rotherham attacks. 6.5
Alan Browne: Had no time to make any real impact.  N/A

Man of the Match

Lewis Buxton: Could prove to be a very good signing. Looks very assured defensively and is also a threat going forward. Worked well with Maguire down the right hand flank and kept Preston’s wing-backs fairly quiet. 7.5