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Paul Heckingbottom will be starting to feel the pressure as Preston North End lose 1-0 to Charlton Athletic. Karlan Grant’s second-half winner sealed it for ‘The Addicks’, continuing Charlton’s perfect to season. On the contrary, North End are yet to find a win this season – losing all three of their leagues games so far, leaving many people worried about the season ahead. Heckingbottom was met with chants of “Hecky, time to go” as he approached the travelling fans at full-time, a bleak reality of where the fanbase stands with him at the moment. Whether to sack him now or later is not going to be discussed, instead where it went wrong for Preston. Key Moments Preston started the first half better than they’ve ever done so far this season, going on the front foot and creating okay chances by their standards. Andrija Vukcevic started it off with an audacious long range effort which would have troubled Arthur Okonkwo if the ball wasn’t deflected away by Lloyd Jones. Despite a brighter start, it nearly diminished as Tyreece Campbell found space on the right wing, crossing into the middle of the box for Miles Leaburn only for Alfie Devine to sense the danger and nearly putting the ball into his own net as the sacrifice for his troubles. A few moments later, Devine made up for the near scare by playing Vukcevic in behind the Charlton full-back to chip in a cross for Callum Lang, who couldn’t keep his header down to threaten the home goalkeeper. Campbell was threatening all afternoon, with him being the catalyst for everything Charlton wanted to do going forward, often having his teammates find him on the left wing. His right-footed cross nearly opened the scoring, lifting the ball towards the middle of the Preston box and finding Leaburn’s diving towards the ball, nearly worrying Iversen’s bottom left. The second half saw the deadlock break, with a free kick from Charlton hitting the wall and the ball finding its way back to the defence. a long ball found Millenic Alli on the right wing, who crossed and found Karlan Grant, despite the coming behind him, Grant’s first touch was incredible and worthy of a goal itself. Turning the defenders inside out, the former West Brom forward found the bottom corner with a scrappy finish, beating Iversen who, once again, should’ve done so much better. That goal knocked the wind out of Preston’s sails, with the away side not threatening anymore beyond the opener, once again accepting their fate with a whimper. Key Performances There was a few individuals who could hold their head up high from that afternoon, sadly none of them from the Preston side as they yet again fell to another defeat with significant improvement from the last game. Although the first half was much better compared to the other two defeats, the bar isn’t very high in terms of the standards for that. Charlton took advantage of the poor Preston performance and took their chance when they needed to, unlike the away side. Tyreece Campbell showed exactly what the Lancashire club will be missing out on, after they continuously fawned over him throughout the summer to hopefully add him into their ranks alongside Stanley Mills. Creating a chance, two successful crosses, and three touches in the box, although he didn’t have his best game, every time he got onto the ball, he looked to make things happen. Lloyd Jones was yet again impresiopus for the London side, completing the most passes on the afternoon (54), making a tackle, five clearances, winning eight aerial duels, and three ground duels – he continues his exceptional start for Charlton. Ivan Mesik is another name who can leave this game with his stocks higher, after the Slovakian full-back displayed his defensive and attacking qualities on the afternoon. Five recoveries, two clearances, five ground duels won, a chance created, and six passes into the final third – Mesik will be a huge player for Charlton this season. Delano Burgzorg and Callum Lang continued to fire blanks for North End, while Lang made the most touches in the opposition box, the pair could only muster three shots between them with two of those off target. This displays Preston’s desperation for an out-and-out striker and supporting role, who can create their chances or be the creator alongside Alfie Devine. Daniel Iversen was once again between at his near post, very easily. Despite making a save, it’s yet another near post shot that has gone in past the 29-year old who has had a terrible start to his campaign. Player Ratings Daniel Iversen – 3 Harry Clarke – 5 Odeluga Offiah – 6 Liam Lindsay – 5 Lewis Gibson – 5 Andrija Vukcevic – 6 Jordan Thompson – 5 Leo Leroy – 5 Alfie Devine – 5 Callum Lang – 4 Delano Burgzorg – 3 Jusef Erabi – N/A Stanley Mills – N/A Theirry Small – N/A Caleb Wiley – N/A Conclusion Yet another defeat for Paul Heckingbottom’s side, adding even more questions and pressure onto the former Sheffield United man. Three straight league defeats, it’s starting to give parallels to the 2010/11 season in terms of the toxicity and lack of confidence. Although, Darren Ferguson’s men actually one of the their first three games, the warning sides were already alarmed before suffering relegation to League One, later that season. Bristol City and Blackburn Rovers are now bigger games for Heckingbottom’s future at the club, needing at least a win from one of those two and a draw from another. However, to envision anything other than a loss would be borderline delusion going off the performances in the opening three games.