Stephen Robinson has backed goalkeeper Connor Ripley after his error led to Preston's second goal in the League Cup. Ripley came out to clear the ball which allowed Hugill to head home the decisive clincher.
Robinson said, “I have nothing but praise for Connor. He has made a bad decision but with a young goalkeeper, they are going to make mistakes at times. He made a mistake but he kept us in the game in the first half with a super save. He will pick himself up as he is a strong character and we didn't lose the game because of that.”
“It is disappointing as the two goals we conceded were poor ones. We had three players around the ball that bobbled through just when we thought we were making a positive change, putting Ryan McLaughlin on who is a bit more forward-thinking than Josh Law with us having a lot of play down that side. It changes the game, meaning you have to chase it and change the shape. We had three strikers on and Jake Cassidy was tired as he hasn't had a lot of game-time. We coped well in the first half."
"We were in total control of the game, but they are just a little bit better at what they do that what we do. They have been together for two years and have that bit more understanding and sometimes a bit better quality in the final third. There was nothing in the game and their management said the same to us. They were two bad goals we are disappointed to conceded and we haven't made a habit of conceding goals like that. We will deal with it and we were never going to win the EFL Cup, if we are all being honest. But the league is a massive priority for us and always have been.”