Paul Heckingbottom was delighted to see Preston pick up their first three points since October 19 as they banished their away day blues with a 2-0 win at Cardiff.
An own goal from Calum Chambers and Milutin Osmajic’s effort in stoppage time sealed the much-needed triumph for Preston, who came into the match on the back of four straight draws.
The victory allowed the Lilywhites to march five places up the table with their first win on the road this season at the 10th attempt, sitting in 14th.
But breaking the hoodoo on their travels was not what Heckingbottom was most pleased with.
“The away win is irrelevant. Given the way we have been playing and not getting the three points it is all about getting results – I have just been wanting to win because that’s the most important thing,” said the Preston boss.
“It wasn’t our most dominant performance and we were wasteful in the first half, and should have been in front. We had two moments when they got in and we managed to get clearances off the line.
“We had to show another side to us, which was really good. We defended our box and that showed the grit and determination of the side to get a clean sheet to go with the two goals.
“We know we can play better than that, we were just really loose. I wanted us to be more confident and dominant.
“We took the lead from the free-kick and then when Cardiff started attacking us and taking chances at the end, we had a lot of experience on the field to help us see the game out.
“The second goal was the icing on the cake because it allowed Milutin to score in front of our fans and celebrate with them.
“I enjoyed away games as a player and I do now as a manager. It’s good to win and sometimes away day wins are the best.”
For Cardiff it was a sixth game without a win in what was Omer Riza’s first game since being handed the managerial reins for the remainder of the season.
It certainly was not the response he was looking for to his extended appointment.
“I’m frustrated and annoyed because there was no fight, no energy, no intensity, no quality and no drive. It was just not good enough,” admitted Riza.
“We were lucky to go in at half-time without conceding and there are a lot of questions that need answering after that performance.
“We need to look at a few things to try to turn things around. We have to go to Stoke on Saturday and not get beaten.
“We were untidy when we had the ball and even our high-quality players were low on quality. The desire to play has to be there, but it wasn’t.
“It was terrible and we have to address it.”
