IRELAND INTERNATIONAL Andrew Moran made his debut, and Alfie Devine secured Preston’s first win in five Championship matches as they edged past struggling Portsmouth 1-0 at Deepdale.
The Dubliner joined Preson on a three-and-a-half-year deal on Deadline Day, after five and a half years at Brighton.
Bray Wanderers youth product Moran, who has three Ireland caps and previously had loan stints at Blackburn Rovers, Stoke City and Los Angeles FC, was introduced in the 87th minute and helped his side see out the victory.
21-year-old Devine bagged a 40th-minute winner – his sixth goal of the season – with a well-directed header from Andrija Vukcevic’s cross.
It was a big win for Paul Heckingbottom that puts his team back on track for a play-off push, however, they had to dig deep against John Mousinho’s visitors, who were unfortunate not to take something from the game.
Portsmouth started with intent, and in the third minute they had three shots in the box from Adrian Segecic, Jacob Brown and Zak Swanson, all blocked by a steely Preston rearguard.
A battered-looking pitch set the tone for a scrappy opening period, with Ebou Adams’ tame header from Segecic’s cross in the 20th minute being the first effort on target by either side.
North End fans had their hearts in their mouths on the half-hour as Segecic looked to be in on goal when Lewis Gibson intervened with a last-ditch sliding challenge that referee Adam Herczeg approved of, despite wild gesticulations from the Pompey players, who felt the 21-year-old winger had been upended.
It was a sluggish start from the hosts, although they did rack up two quickfire chances in the 37th and 38th minutes as Devine’s deflected shot looped just wide of the far corner before Lewis Dobbin’s whipped, angled effort was easily gathered by Nicolas Schmid.
Those moments provided the perfect impetus as just moments later, Devine managed to guide a looping header over Schmid and into the corner to provide the home fans with some cheer.
Pompey almost had an instant response with David Cornell forced to spring low down to tip Andre Dozzell’s audacious low strike from distance around the post.
Advertisement
Preston started the second half well, and Dobbin nearly extended their lead after 54 minutes, taking Ben Whiteman’s pass in his stride before galloping past several Portsmouth bodies, but his final finish was too high.
However, from that moment forward, the Lilywhites were largely second best and found themselves pinned by the visitors.
Their best opening came in the 78th minute as Adams’ close-range header was blocked on the line in a crowded penalty area with close-by team-mates in blue and white unable to usher the loose ball in.
In the latter stages, substitute Makenzie Kirk spooned over Millenic Alli’s awkward cross at the near post as another half-chance went begging for Portsmouth.
Mousinho’s men did everything they could to take the game to their opponents, but just lacked incisiveness with the killer final pass and finish, perhaps reflecting their lowly league position of 19th.
Elsewhere, in League One, Marcus Harness’ fourth goal of the season helped inspire Huddersfield Town’s late comeback to draw 2-2 with Blackpool, leaving them in the playoff spots in fifth.
A goal from former Ireland U21 international Luca Connell was not enough, as Conor Hourihane’s mid-table Barnsley lost 3-2 against Bolton Wanderers.
Irish midfielder Jamie Mullins scored his third goal of the season from 27 appearances, as eighth-place Wycombe beat Doncaster 4-0.
In League Two, Cork’s Aaron Drinan continued his brilliant season, as his 24th goal in all competitions helped promotion-chasing Swindon Town beat Oldham 3-0.
Meanwhile, on Friday night, Jacob Devaney opened the scoring, and Roland Idowu struck in extra-time to save St Mirren’s blushes as they saw off a resilient Airdrie 2-1 to book their place in the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup quarter-finals.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Ireland international makes debut as Preston prevail
IRELAND INTERNATIONAL Andrew Moran made his debut, and Alfie Devine secured Preston’s first win in five Championship matches as they edged past struggling Portsmouth 1-0 at Deepdale.
The Dubliner joined Preson on a three-and-a-half-year deal on Deadline Day, after five and a half years at Brighton.
Bray Wanderers youth product Moran, who has three Ireland caps and previously had loan stints at Blackburn Rovers, Stoke City and Los Angeles FC, was introduced in the 87th minute and helped his side see out the victory.
21-year-old Devine bagged a 40th-minute winner – his sixth goal of the season – with a well-directed header from Andrija Vukcevic’s cross.
It was a big win for Paul Heckingbottom that puts his team back on track for a play-off push, however, they had to dig deep against John Mousinho’s visitors, who were unfortunate not to take something from the game.
Portsmouth started with intent, and in the third minute they had three shots in the box from Adrian Segecic, Jacob Brown and Zak Swanson, all blocked by a steely Preston rearguard.
A battered-looking pitch set the tone for a scrappy opening period, with Ebou Adams’ tame header from Segecic’s cross in the 20th minute being the first effort on target by either side.
North End fans had their hearts in their mouths on the half-hour as Segecic looked to be in on goal when Lewis Gibson intervened with a last-ditch sliding challenge that referee Adam Herczeg approved of, despite wild gesticulations from the Pompey players, who felt the 21-year-old winger had been upended.
It was a sluggish start from the hosts, although they did rack up two quickfire chances in the 37th and 38th minutes as Devine’s deflected shot looped just wide of the far corner before Lewis Dobbin’s whipped, angled effort was easily gathered by Nicolas Schmid.
Those moments provided the perfect impetus as just moments later, Devine managed to guide a looping header over Schmid and into the corner to provide the home fans with some cheer.
Pompey almost had an instant response with David Cornell forced to spring low down to tip Andre Dozzell’s audacious low strike from distance around the post.
Preston started the second half well, and Dobbin nearly extended their lead after 54 minutes, taking Ben Whiteman’s pass in his stride before galloping past several Portsmouth bodies, but his final finish was too high.
However, from that moment forward, the Lilywhites were largely second best and found themselves pinned by the visitors.
Their best opening came in the 78th minute as Adams’ close-range header was blocked on the line in a crowded penalty area with close-by team-mates in blue and white unable to usher the loose ball in.
In the latter stages, substitute Makenzie Kirk spooned over Millenic Alli’s awkward cross at the near post as another half-chance went begging for Portsmouth.
Mousinho’s men did everything they could to take the game to their opponents, but just lacked incisiveness with the killer final pass and finish, perhaps reflecting their lowly league position of 19th.
Elsewhere, in League One, Marcus Harness’ fourth goal of the season helped inspire Huddersfield Town’s late comeback to draw 2-2 with Blackpool, leaving them in the playoff spots in fifth.
A goal from former Ireland U21 international Luca Connell was not enough, as Conor Hourihane’s mid-table Barnsley lost 3-2 against Bolton Wanderers.
Irish midfielder Jamie Mullins scored his third goal of the season from 27 appearances, as eighth-place Wycombe beat Doncaster 4-0.
In League Two, Cork’s Aaron Drinan continued his brilliant season, as his 24th goal in all competitions helped promotion-chasing Swindon Town beat Oldham 3-0.
Meanwhile, on Friday night, Jacob Devaney opened the scoring, and Roland Idowu struck in extra-time to save St Mirren’s blushes as they saw off a resilient Airdrie 2-1 to book their place in the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup quarter-finals.
Additional reporting by Paul Fennessy
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Aaron Drinan Andrew Moran Championship COYBIG team:Brighton & Hove Albion (Football 69) Preston North End