Preston North End 1-0 Swansea City: Brad Potts goal proves enough for Ryan Lowe's men

A blunt first-half showing proved costly for Swansea City who were narrowly beaten 1-0 by Preston North End.

The Swans lacked creativity in the opening 45 at Deepdale and fell behind to Brad Potts' effort following a mistake from Harry Darling. They offered far more in the second-half and saw the likes of Jay Fulton, Ollie Cooper, Darling and Ryan Manning all have chances, but they couldn't bulge the net as their three-game unbeaten run was ended in Lancashire.

Russell Martin made four changes to his line-up from the 1-1 draw with Bristol City, the most notable of which saw Joel Piroe return from suspension to replace Michael Obafemi up front.

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Kyle Naughton, Manning and Saturday's goal scorer Olivier Ntcham were also drafted in, with Nathan Wood, Matty Sorinola and Cooper dropping to the bench.

In their bright orange away strip, Swansea - who had Naughton at right wing-back and Joel Latibeaudiere on the left of a back three from kick-off - saw plenty of the ball. The hosts looked to press the Swans high up the pitch, and it was Preston who created the game's first opening, although captain Alan Browne could only volley Robbie Brady's cross straight at Steven Benda from an acute angle.

In truth, it took no time at all for Martin's men to fully appreciate why Preston boasted the joint-best defensive record in the division going into the match, with their 5-3-2 shape proving tough to crack when Swansea had the ball. Ryan Lowe's men took confidence from their encouraging start, and they should have gone ahead following a slick passing move in the 17th minute, although Emil Riis failed to guide Potts' cross beyond