Blackburn's Owen Beck was visibly shaken after reportedly being bitten on the back of his neck by Preston's Milutin Osmajic during their heated goalless draw, according to Rovers manager John Eustace. Beck was shown a red card in the 89th minute for retaliating against Duane Holmes, but the more significant incident occurred shortly after, as video evidence seemed to indicate Osmajic biting the Blackburn left-back.

Eustace commented on the incident, stating: "He [Beck] went to clear the ball and made contact with the player, but he has a significant bite mark on the back of his neck. It's unfortunate that the referee missed that. He's shown it to the team. Beck is understandably disappointed about being sent off, but he certainly doesn't want to carry that injury as well. He's a bit quiet, a bit shaken up."

Osmajic's manager, Paul Heckingbottom, emphasized: "All I can say is that there's no place for [biting] in the game. Mistimed tackles and similar incidents are part of football, but anything beyond that needs to be addressed."

Preston's Sam Greenwood also received a red card after a reckless challenge that floored Lewis Baker in the 42nd minute. However, Eustace showed some understanding towards the Leeds loanee, saying: "It looked a bit high, but we must remember it was a local derby. Such challenges are expected in these high-intensity matches."

Heckingbottom accepted the decision but called for more consistency in determining what constitutes a red card offense. "At the time, I thought he won the ball [and it should have been] a yellow card," he said. "He probably did, but the player's leg got trapped underneath. If it's a red, then so be it, but we need to see consistent decisions."

The North End manager believed his team managed the game effectively despite the challenges and even suggested that Greenwood's sending-off might have complicated things for their opponents. "We controlled the first half with the ball but didn't create enough opportunities or clear-cut chances from our possession," he noted.

Eustace expressed his frustration, saying: "We didn't create enough in the final third when they were down to 10 men. That's something we need to improve on. We still had the best chance of the game. We limited them in the first half to no real chances, except for the header in the last minute, which [Aynsley Pears] saved well. In a local derby, form and quality often take a back seat."