Preston North End vs Stoke City. Sky Bet Championship.
DeepdaleAttendance17,341.
Preston North End 1-1 Stoke City: Lewis Baker penalty earns point for Potters
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Preston North End and Stoke City at Deepdale on Saturday; Lewis Baker penalty earns point for Potters, cancelling out Kaine Kesler-Hayden opener.
Saturday 5 April 2025 18:28, UK
Lewis Baker's second-half penalty ensured a share of the spoils at Deepdale as Stoke battled back to draw 1-1 with Preston in the Sky Bet Championship.
Kaine Kesler-Hayden bagged his first goal for the Lilywhites in the 10th minute before Baker levelled with a 75th-minute spot-kick.
It was no more than the visitors deserved after mounting up a great deal of pressure, particularly in the second half, but Preston would have been disappointed to lose the lead after holding out for so long.
- Championship highlights | Table | Fixtures
- All you need to know - Streaming Sky Sports with NOW | Get Sky Sports
- Download the Sky Sports App to watch every Sky Sports+ game
- Live EFL on Sky Sports+ & how to watch | Get more EFL to your phone with WhatsApp
Both teams came into this with just three league victories in their last 12 combined and there was a sense of that struggle with Preston finding it hard to generate attacks and Stoke continually spurning good openings.
The visitors nearly went ahead in the fifth minute when Million Manhoef stormed onto Ashley Phillips' hopeful ball over the top, only to be denied by a recovering slide from Jordan Storey.
But Preston took the lead shortly after as Kesler-Hayden's shot from the centre of the box trickled in via a deflection after the Aston Villa loanee was found by Sam Greenwood.
Bae Jun-ho let fly with a 17th-minute rocket from distance that flew over the top and Baker's 25-yard curler also went close just five minutes later.
Paul Heckingbottom's men roared back and Phillips had to intervene with a brave block on the stroke of the half-hour as Milutin Osmajic pulled the trigger from Kesler-Hayden's looping pass.
However, Stoke's best chance of the half fell to Baker just minutes later but the former Chelsea man failed to keep his first-time finish down from Wouter Burger's cross.
Early in the second half, Burger rippled the side-netting with a shot from just inside the box before Dai Cornell kept out Eric Bocat's fierce drilled strike with his foot.
The Potters continued to dial up the pressure and, on the hour, Cornell spread himself to deny Bae, who had been played in by Manhoef, with a combination of Storey and Lewis Gibson managing to keep out Baker's follow-up effort.
Eventually, Mark Robins' team did get their goal as Liam Lindsay pulled back substitute Ali Al-Hamadi in the box and Baker confidently dispatched his penalty into the corner for his fifth goal of the campaign.
Baker turned provider five minutes later but Ben Wilmot headed wide from an appetising position as Stoke smelled blood.
Preston were hanging on but Ben Whiteman went close in a rare foray forward for the home side, striking Kesler-Hayden's lay-off narrowly over from 20 yards.
A series of late stoppages and substitutions stagnated the game's flow and, with little on the line in terms of jeopardy, the game fizzled out despite a rapturous away end doing their utmost to be Stoke's 12th man.
The managers
Preston's Paul Heckingbottom:
"We'll take the point in the end. I don't think it's a penalty so I'm disappointed we didn't get three [points] but I don't think the performance deserved three so we'll take the point and move on.
"At the start of the second half, they got on top and I think they won all the duels but we're going to get games like that."
Stoke's Mark Robins:
He [Baker] been really good since he came back for me. We've played him in different positions, a little bit deeper and a little bit higher and higher is where he's at his best because he's closer to the goal.
"He's got that ability and he's been doing that really well but not only that, he's been creating opportunities for others. He's got a lot of strings to his bow.
"I don't know what went on in the past, I just know [I wanted to bring him back] when I came in the door.
"He's a really good player. I've known him for a long time and I like a lot of the things that he does. He's a top professional. He's a really good kid and I'm delighted to have him.
"We may have accepted a point away from home, especially after the last few away games that we've had, where we've not managed to see a game out. This time we have done but I thought we were better. I thought we created the better chances."
