Preston clearly missing their dynamic midfield duo

Paul Heckingbottom bemoaned his side's inability to get the finer details right as they slipped to only their fourth defeat in 16 Championship outings this season.

Losing to two set-piece goals is never a good look, and North End will reflect on them both with regret.

But the wider performance against Blackburn lacked energy and any sort of a consistent cutting edge. North End imposed themselves early and swiftly deteriorated. The second half almost passed them by.

Without the outstanding teenage talent of Everton loanee Harrison Armstrong and the industrious Ali McCann in midfield - two standouts in a sizeable list of absentees - Preston lacked the guile and control that has propelled them to where they are this season.

Heckingbottom has been able to put together a competitive team capable of putting an imprint on the top six; the optimism of the fans underlined by the sell-out home support.

But they can ill-afford the likes of McCann and Armstrong to be missing. They are critical players. McCann, who has been one of North End's most consistent performers in the four years he's been at the club, is sidelined by a broken arm. Armstrong has a muscle injury, the severity of it unclear.

They must now reset for a test at Watford on Tuesday. Preston remain in an outstanding position given they narrowly avoided relegation in May, but they clearly under-performed against their Lancashire neighbours.