Heckingbottom has to be joking after what he said about Sunderland v Preston
Preston reverted to the dark arts of football in a bid to see out their result away to Sunderland.
Sunderland managed to secure a late point against Preston, in a 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light, courtesy of a screamer from Romaine Mundle.
The performance on the night was not one to be proud of, though it was the antics of the visiting team which took most of the headlines.
From minute one, it was evident that Preston had no intention of playing football and instead reverted to cheap ways of conning the referee, though it is the comments made by Paul Heckingbottom that will provide the biggest shock.
Heckingbottom criticises officials v Sunderland
Sunderland are still-ish in the conversation for a top two finish, though they were certainly aided by the embarrassing antics of the Preston side.
Their attempts to deceive the referee did nothing but wind the home support up and essentially provide them with an injection of energy, which in turn led to the equalising goal.
In one passage of play before the goal, three different Preston players went down injured, two of which got back up just to straight back down.
The visitors then attempted to make a substitution, which would have seen them with 12 players on the pitch, though the officials were completely unaware of that and were only able to acknowledge the matter when the entire Sunderland bench made it clear.
| Sunderland v Preston | Goals | Shots | xG | Possession |
| Sunderland | 1 | 20 | 2.11 | 53% |
| Preston | 1 | 15 | 0.79 | 47% |
Freddie Woodman was later booked for time wasting, and yet Heckingbottom had the nerve to say “The officials were poor as well” [Sunderland Echo].
He added: “It was absolute carnage, and I thought we were the coolest heads out there to be fair. When you’ve got officiating like that, appalling.”
Given the nature of their performance, it is genuinely astounding that he has the nerve to come out and criticise the officials that allowed them to get away with their antics throughout the entire clash.
Sunderland must find momentum
Starting with their recent win away to Sheffield Wednesday, the draw against Preston means the Black Cats are now three games unbeaten, though the performances throughout that period have often left a lot to be desired.
If promotion is to be achieved, consistency will be key, and at the moment, Sunderland are not showcasing that on the pitch.
With nine games to go, there are plenty of points up for grabs to ensure that they can finish the campaign as strongly as possible.