PRESTON BOSS ALEX Neil hailed Sean Maguire’s impact after his comeback from injury continued when he netted the winner in last night’s Championship clash with Bristol City.
After four months out through injury, Maguire made his return to action off the bench last Saturday when scoring twice against Bolton Wanderers and continued that goalscoring streak at Deepdale last night.
Neil has opted to gradually utilise Maguire rather than rushing him back to start and has been rewarded with a return of three goals in just 53 minutes of action.
“We were always intending on putting Seanie on and getting him some minutes,” Neil told Preston’s official website after last night’s game.
“I’d like to have started him but I don’t think he’s quite ready for that at the moment but he again he shows his value and what we’ve been missing all season.
“It was fantastic. He’s got a lot to do. It’s a good pass through from DJ and then he’s got to make sure he shows composure, shows a bit of quality, a bit of pace and he does all of that and he tucks it in the corner.
“I think at that stage we really needed that shot in the arm because we’d been dominant in the game and we’d let them back in with a sloppy goal.”
The goal brings Maguire’s tally for the season to seven, one ahead of another former Cork City player Alan Browne, who was also on the mark last night.
The victory means Preston have jumped to 8th in the table, a point outside the play-off places. Next up for them is a home match against Fulham on Saturday afternoon.
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