Advertisement
Andy Boyle made his Preston debut last night. Brian Lawless
High praise

'He did really well' - Andy Boyle hailed after Preston debut

The Dubliner had a 26th birthday to remember last night, as he completed 90 minutes against Derby.

IRISH DEFENDER ANDY Boyle has been praised after making his debut for Preston in the Championship last night.

Boyle, who joined the club from Dundalk in the January transfer window, completed 90 minutes in his side’s 1-1 draw with Derby last night.

Manager Simon Grayson singled out the Dubliner, who turned 26 yesterday, for praise.

“We’re very pleased with Boyle who did superbly well on his debut,” he told reporters after the game.

When you make your debut it’s always nice but when you do it against David Nugent, Matej Vydra and Tom Ince, that’s some attacking threat but he did really well.

“I wasn’t aware that it was his birthday when I picked him so it was done purely for footballing reasons, not sentimental reasons but he’ll have enjoyed his birthday today.

“Making your debut at any level is special and putting a performance in like he did just shows you why we signed him.”

pnefcofficial / YouTube

Boyle was similarly positive, describing the chance to make his first appearance as “a great feeling”.

“I’ve waited a while but I can’t have any complaints as the lads have been doing really well and it’s difficult to get into the team,” he said.

“It’s a decent result for us — I felt we deserved something from the game and to do it in the way we did it makes it even better.

I’ve been looking forward to this moment since I signed. I thought I did okay — it would have been nice to keep a clean sheet but a point is the main thing and that keeps us going.

“I found out an hour and a half before kick-off (that I was playing) so it was a late enough one but we’d done plenty of work in preparation in our shape and things like that. You have to be ready for these types of occasions when they’re brought upon you.”

Aiden McGeady and Greg Cunningham also both started for Grayson’s side, while Daryl Horgan came off the bench and Alan Browne was an unused sub.

Alex Pearce and Cyrus Christie made the Derby starting XI, though Richard Keogh was unavailable owing to a calf injury.

Meanwhile, there was encouraging news for another former League of Ireland favourite last night, as Richie Towell made his first Championship appearance of the season, coming off the bench in the 84th minute of Brighton’s 2-0 defeat of Rotherham.

Chris Hughton’s side’s win saw them reduce the gap at the top of the Championship to three points, as leaders Newcastle drew 0-0 at Reading.

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!

‘This club is in great shape’: Arsene Wenger stands firm in wake of fan protests and thumping loss>

Championship title race is back on as Brighton close the gap on Rafa’s Newcastle>

Your Voice
Readers Comments
2
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.