SHEFFIELD Wednesday boss Henrik Pedersen professed to mixed feelings after seeing his side produce their best first-half of the season at home in his eyes against Preston North End, but end up losing out 3-2 at the final whistle of a see-saw Championship game.

Wednesday, so poor in last weekend's home derby against Sheffield Wednesday, were superb in the first half with Charlie McNeill netting a brace to see them take a richly-deserved 2-1 lead.

But it proved a bittersweet day for McNeill, who missed a 74th-minute penalty, which was saved by Daniel Iversen, when the score was deadlocked at 2-2.

Two minutes later, Preston sub Mads Frokjaer rubbed salt in the wounds when he put North End in front for the first time, as Wednesday's run without a home success in the league extended to 11 matches, their worst sequence since 1975.

Sheffield Wednesday's Charlie McNeill misses out on his hat-trick after his penalty kick is saved and is consoled by skipper Barry Bannan. Picture: Steve Ellis.

placeholder image — Sheffield Wednesday's Charlie McNeill misses out on his hat-trick after his penalty kick is saved and is consoled by skipper Barry Bannan. Picture: Steve Ellis.

It was his side's concession of two goals from set-plays, with Preston's goal scored by Ben Whiteman and Lewis Dobbin which angered Pedersen more than the penalty miss.

On his side's efforts, he said: "I am very, very proud and very, very disappointed. I think the last time I sat here was after the derby game. We were all disappointed because there was nothing in this performance that we were happy for.

"Then we had a very, very good reaction in Millwall and then it's the first home game after the derby and to deliver a performance like this I can only be proud.

"The last two weeks where we had three games a week, Oxford home I think and Southampton away, then we knew we were tired when we started the (third) game. But in both games, we could run with them and we could play with them in the second half.

"So today the theme was how can we be mentally ready, also with a tired body, so we could perform from the first moment and with this connection.

"We all know when we are tired, then we start to only have focus for ourselves and we don't have this connection to our teammates. But this focus for each other and this connection from the first moment today, it was a big step ahead how we have tackled this situation in the other weeks.

"How we played this first half, I think it was our best half of the season. We were strong defensively but we were really, really strong offensively and created a lot.

"We should just have scored one or two goals more and then I think we would have won this football game.

"Second half, I think we played well. Not so dominant as in the first half but we missed a penalty and they scored one minute later.

"They don't create in an open game, they create from set-pieces and this is the story of those two games in Millwall and today we can compete in more or less all the phases but set-pieces, it was awful."

Meanwhile, Pedersen absolved McNeill from blame after stepping up to take responsibility with the penalty, but seeing his effort saved.

He added: "I think we have three players on the list and we have to find out who is the best. I am sure it was because Charlie has to make a hat-trick that he should take it, I am sure Charlie was the guy who had the confidence to do it.

"It was not an ego thing that now I have to make a hat-trick, it was a power thing that I want to win this game for Sheffield Wednesday."

Offering his take on a decidedly mixed afternoon, which saw his side trail 2-1 after a difficult first period, Preston chief and one-time Wednesday player Paul Heckingbottom acknowledged: "I won’t enjoy watching that one back for a long while..

"Spirit, drive and will to win get us over the line.

"Coping with them in transitions was a big problem in the first half. They kept running off us and we were really, really loose.

"They (Wednesday) suffer with a small squad when there's injuries and suspensions. But they have quality and are a wounded animal.”