IRELAND INTERNATIONAL ANDREW Moran registered a lovely assist as Preston North End beat Stoke City 3-1 in the Championship tonight.
The 22-year-old has had to be patient since joining Preston from Brighton in the January transfer window.
Moran was making just his fourth appearance and second start for Paul Heckingbottom’s side.
On his full home debut, the ex-Bray Wanderers youngster produced a perfectly weighted through pass that allowed Alfie Devine to sprint through on goal and finish clinically for Preston’s 66th-minute equaliser.
Moran played 77 minutes — the most he has managed in senior football since September — and was taken off with his side holding a commanding 3-1 lead.
Fellow Irish internationals Robbie Brady and Bosun Lawal — both of whom, unlike Moran, were included in Heimir Hallgrímsson’s squad to face Czechia on Thursday — were unused subs, as they continue to recover from respective long-term injuries
Devine was also influential as Preston ended a seven-game winless streak at Deepdale.
The 21-year-old Tottenham loanee cancelled out a fourth-minute volley from Sorba Thomas with his composed finish and completed his brace with a delightful dink for Preston’s third on the hour mark, just minutes after Milutin Osmajic had headed them in front with his eighth goal of a turbulent season.
Stoke fans were lively from the off, filling three-quarters of the away end, and they were ecstatic when Thomas acrobatically slammed Junior Tchamadeu’s cross into the floor and past Daniel Iversen for an early opener.
It was a nightmare start for the out-of-form hosts; however, they bounced back with aplomb.
After Devine’s equaliser, North End could have taken the lead in the 23rd minute as Liam Lindsay headed over Devine’s corner from an appetising central position.
Visiting supporters were up in arms after 34 minutes as Ben Whiteman clattered Thomas on the halfway line, with Preston looking light in defence, though referee Farai Hallam opted for a yellow card despite calls for a red, given the studs-up nature of the challenge.
Simkin could have done better with the opener and nearly handed Preston a second as he misjudged the flight of Andrew Hughes’ cross, and the 21-year-old was counting his lucky stars as Osmajic failed to head on target with the goal gaping.
It was one of the best halves of football Preston have had at Deepdale since the turn of the year, but Stoke almost equalised early in the second period as Million Manhoef looked set to stab a loose ball past Iversen until Andrija Vukcevic’s incredible last-ditch block.
After surviving that scare, Heckingbottom’s side soon got a deserved third in the 57th minute with Osmajic making amends for his poor first-half miss by nodding home Lewis Dobbin’s pinpoint cross from close range.
Two quickly became three for the rampant hosts as Osjamic turned provider, slipping Devine in behind a Potters defence that were all at sea, and the on-loan Spurs man delightfully clipped the ball over the advancing Simpkin to bag his eighth goal of the season for the Lilywhites.
Mark Robins’ men looked vulnerable to the counterattack throughout, and the early second-half substitutes Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, Sam Gallagher and Jun-Ho Bae left them looking even more defensively disjointed, allowing Preston to create that two-goal cushion and see the game out.
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Irish international makes an impact on full home debut as Preston prevail
Championship result:
Preston North End 3
Stoke City 1
IRELAND INTERNATIONAL ANDREW Moran registered a lovely assist as Preston North End beat Stoke City 3-1 in the Championship tonight.
The 22-year-old has had to be patient since joining Preston from Brighton in the January transfer window.
Moran was making just his fourth appearance and second start for Paul Heckingbottom’s side.
On his full home debut, the ex-Bray Wanderers youngster produced a perfectly weighted through pass that allowed Alfie Devine to sprint through on goal and finish clinically for Preston’s 66th-minute equaliser.
Moran played 77 minutes — the most he has managed in senior football since September — and was taken off with his side holding a commanding 3-1 lead.
Fellow Irish internationals Robbie Brady and Bosun Lawal — both of whom, unlike Moran, were included in Heimir Hallgrímsson’s squad to face Czechia on Thursday — were unused subs, as they continue to recover from respective long-term injuries
Devine was also influential as Preston ended a seven-game winless streak at Deepdale.
The 21-year-old Tottenham loanee cancelled out a fourth-minute volley from Sorba Thomas with his composed finish and completed his brace with a delightful dink for Preston’s third on the hour mark, just minutes after Milutin Osmajic had headed them in front with his eighth goal of a turbulent season.
Stoke fans were lively from the off, filling three-quarters of the away end, and they were ecstatic when Thomas acrobatically slammed Junior Tchamadeu’s cross into the floor and past Daniel Iversen for an early opener.
It was a nightmare start for the out-of-form hosts; however, they bounced back with aplomb.
After Devine’s equaliser, North End could have taken the lead in the 23rd minute as Liam Lindsay headed over Devine’s corner from an appetising central position.
Visiting supporters were up in arms after 34 minutes as Ben Whiteman clattered Thomas on the halfway line, with Preston looking light in defence, though referee Farai Hallam opted for a yellow card despite calls for a red, given the studs-up nature of the challenge.
Simkin could have done better with the opener and nearly handed Preston a second as he misjudged the flight of Andrew Hughes’ cross, and the 21-year-old was counting his lucky stars as Osmajic failed to head on target with the goal gaping.
It was one of the best halves of football Preston have had at Deepdale since the turn of the year, but Stoke almost equalised early in the second period as Million Manhoef looked set to stab a loose ball past Iversen until Andrija Vukcevic’s incredible last-ditch block.
After surviving that scare, Heckingbottom’s side soon got a deserved third in the 57th minute with Osmajic making amends for his poor first-half miss by nodding home Lewis Dobbin’s pinpoint cross from close range.
Two quickly became three for the rampant hosts as Osjamic turned provider, slipping Devine in behind a Potters defence that were all at sea, and the on-loan Spurs man delightfully clipped the ball over the advancing Simpkin to bag his eighth goal of the season for the Lilywhites.
Mark Robins’ men looked vulnerable to the counterattack throughout, and the early second-half substitutes Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, Sam Gallagher and Jun-Ho Bae left them looking even more defensively disjointed, allowing Preston to create that two-goal cushion and see the game out.
Additional reporting by Paul Fennessy
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