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Preston fan shouts at Ryan Lowe; Paul Heckingbottom vents after FA Cup defeat to Wigan

A Preston fan shouts at Ryan Lowe mid-interview and Paul Heckingbottom vents after his side’s FA Cup defeat to Wigan.

18 year old Harrison Bettoni’s deflected effort on 75 minutes proved to be the decisive goal as League One Wigan upset Championship opposition Preston.

Wigan had the chance to double their lead 9 minutes later, but Callum Wright sent his penalty over the bar.

Late drama saw Preston’s Brad Potts have a rebound disallowed for offside after a brilliant save from Sam Tickle.

Wigan Today’s Paul Kendrick condemned a Preston fan who shouted “Scouse twat” at the Latics boss during his post-match chat after a 1-0 Third Round upset at Deepdale.

There has been a lingering resentment from Preston supporters toward Lowe, who managed the Lilywhites between 2021 and 2024, before his departure and move to Wigan.

@PKendrickWIG tweeted: “Wondered if this would be picked up on film. A bit unsavoury and unnecessary. Interestingly, he went straight up after to the press suite next to the corporates, where the fella had shouted from, no-one said a word… #wafc”

Wigan boss Ryan Lowe told BBC Radio Manchester:

“I’m pleased for our fans and pleased for the lads. The game plan worked a treat. I did enjoy it of course, coming back to your old club, performing to the levels that we did and limiting them to very few chances, if any.

“We had three big chances and should score more goals, [we had] the penalty obviously and a couple of chances in the first half against a fantastic team who are flying high in the Championship.

“We want to win every game as much as we can. We’re probably not going to win the FA Cup but it’s nice, with our supporters behind us in a local derby, to go through to the fourth round so I’m really pleased.”

He said to Latics TV: “We’ve said to the lads in the last few days that the FA Cup brings magical moments, and that was a magical moment for me, the players and our fans,” he told Latics TV

“We used Hemel Hempstead Town and Barrow as an example – it was their big game coming to our Stadium, and this was a big game for us and our fans.

“What a moment. I think we had the best chances, and when you come to these places, you have to grind it out and work hard.

“We nullified their threats, found their weaknesses, and scored a good goal through Harrison.

“I am pleased and proud – and that’s for our fans. It’s a local derby, we’ve done one, and we’ve got another one to go next week.”

Heckingbottom said, per Lancashire Post: “From the first minute, we weren’t playing how we wanted to play. I’m not talking about loose passes or a lack of energy or anything like that, I’m talking about the things that we constantly work on that I think give us an edge. We didn’t do it.

“First throw, we didn’t set up right and they get a shot off. Next five, ten minutes, Lindsay’s right side of Dan – never done that all season. First time we get it right, we get Pol in and nearly score. Free-kicks, corners, everything to do with organisation, really – things that we pride ourselves on – we weren’t as good as we normally are.

“It makes the game harder for yourself… frustrating. Today, we weren’t clued in… we just weren’t. We made the game hard for ourselves and made it too even, so that’s the disappointing thing. It’s over. You can’t do anything about it now. It’s pointless now. It’s a big lesson again.

“I think one thing we’ve been pretty good at as a group is reflecting properly, being really honest and then trying to deliver and put it right – so we’ll do that again. It’s a frustrating performance. You get them but you don’t want to have them, and I think we all feel the same because they’ve been few and far between.”

“It’s a cow field,” said Heckingbottom. “Let’s not kid ourselves, it’s disgusting, that’s what it is, but we’ve got to play on it. We’ve recruited good footballers, we’ve got to play on it. We need a new pitch, we know that.

“The problem is, it may be (coming) but then that might be a choice for me: players or pitch. We can’t (let it affect how we prepare/approach games). It is a factor. It suits some teams more than others, without a doubt.

“But yeah, we can’t because there’s nothing we can do about it. I wouldn’t have said a word if you boys hadn’t asked me, because all we’re doing is creating an excuse. So, please make this be the last time you write about it or say something about it. What can we do? It’s here until next year.”

Asked if the pitch will improve, and if the cold weather contributed to it: “No, it’s just rubbish,. It’s the only pitch in the league that’s not got any synthetic in it. It’s got no undersoil heating, no synthetic in it – they always cut up. It’s just a fact. That’s why every club’s got the other pitch, whether it’s stitched or whether it’s lined all the way through.

“When the grass grows in the summer, the roots bed into the plastic and then I’m not bothered if it looks like this – it’s brown and there’s no grass on it. It’s flatter, it plays properly. That’s the difference.”

Twitter users reacted after a Preston fan shouts at Ryan Lowe; and Paul Heckingbottom vents after his side’s FA Cup defeat to Wigan…

@pnefctom17: I’ve got no time at all for Ryan Lowe but wasn’t warranted.

@Finders82: Makes the victory for Wigan sweeter

@LozGaskell: Do Spud Bros grow their spuds on you pitch it looks like a farmers field #pnefc #wafc

@MikeCookson1: Ahh where to even begin. Fair play to Wigan and good luck to them firstly. We were awful, didn’t deserve it and that pitch is a disgrace. Hoping we’re getting that performance out of our system ready to return to league action .

@Larrylopez69: Who looks after the pitch – Preston council? Looks like the Nags head play on it every Sunday – absolute disgrace!!

@PNEPlug: Uncomfortable conversations need to be taking place between Ridsdale and the ground staff. Pitch is an absolute fucking disgrace to say the least #pnefc

@CasualsNorthern: Fully deserved for Wigan. Should have been more. Shocking performance, so far off it, worst for a long time. Shame as they’ve been good this season. While the pitch is the same for both sides, it has to be a concern these next few weeks, it’s in very poor condition. #pnefc

@cjg2405: Congrats to Wigan. I’m not bothered in the slightest we are out of the cup, rather lose tonight than on Tuesday. Hope PNE have got that out of their system and improve next week. The pitch is shocking at the minute too

@mnorcross84: Not been that angry in a long time. That performance was pathetic from start to finish all across the pitch #pnefc

@JoeyO94: We’ve finally got midfielders who can thread through incisive passes & forwards who can run into those channels and benefit from a decent pitch and instead we’ve got this. Any potential signings in Jan will take one look at this and have second thoughts. Needs sorting ASAP #pnefc

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