Carlos Corberan was left ruing a lack of clinical edge as stuttering Huddersfield slipped further into relegation danger with a 3-0 defeat at Preston.
Brad Potts edged the hosts ahead midway through the first half before Ched Evans put them in the driving seat after 67 minutes, despite being second best to Town.
Scott Sinclair made the points safe with 10 minutes to go with an emphatic first-time finish, with the Terriers now losing four of their last five.
“We did not get the result in the moment when we were controlling the game,” said Huddersfield head coach Corberan.
“We created chances in the first 20 minutes and did not take them. After that we continued in the same way but we let them score.
“We played better in the first half. We changed things in the second half and it did not help the team.
“We wanted to give more balance to the team. We had a lot of battles in the pitch and situations that you need to win in the middle of the park.
“Preston started to do that in the second half and stopped our attacks.
“We made another mistake and conceded a second goal and that was the game for them. We suffered on the counter-attack and conceded a third goal.
“Football is not about how many chances you create it is about how many chances you take.
“We did not make the most of those chances.
“Preston used their opportunities well and they were much better than us in that area.”
Preston struggled in the early stages but led after 23 minutes, Potts finishing on the half-volley after Ryan Schofield had initially saved from Sinclair.
But they were indebted to goalkeeper Daniel Iversen for their lead, saving from Isaac Mbenza and Pipa while Fraizer Campbell pleaded for a penalty when felled.
Potts shot weakly after 65 minutes before the hosts failed to make the most of a four-on-three counter-attack after a wasteful pass by Sinclair.
But the good spell of pressure paid off when Evans slotted home after Alan Browne’s perfect first-time pass picked him out.
Preston added another late on when Sinclair hammered home after a flowing move involving Evans and Tom Barkhuizen opened up the unfortunate visitors.
“It took us time to get into the game,” said Preston manager Alex Neil. “We didn’t start the game well and gave them too much time on the ball.
“We got ourselves ahead which we don’t normally do. That is something we have spoken about.
“The lads were very strong in the second half. It is a case of taking your chances, we did that and it made the difference.
“We played better the other night (against QPR) over the 90 mins than we did in this game.
“The biggest difference was we were clinical.
“You’ve got to be clinical when you are trying to be naturally defensively solid and not throw caution to the wind.
“It was a massive game for us today. I felt if we had lost it we would be looking over our shoulders.
“If you win it you take a big step to being secure and enjoying the rest of the season.
“There’s still work to be done but this was a big step mentally for the players.
“We needed the win today as a group.”
