Deepdale, EFL Championship, 18/4/25
Me still 340, Wee Man 204
Preston North End Football Club
Founded – 1880
Nickname – PNE, The Lillywhites
Honours – FA Cup – 1888/89 and 1937/38. First Division – 1888/89 and 1889/90. Second Division – 1903/04, 1912/13 and 1950/51. Third Division – 1970/71 and 1999/00. Fourth Division – 1995/96
Random Fact – Deepdale was a target during the suffragette arson campaign. On April 26, 1913 a policeman was alerted to two large bags under the grandstand. These contained paraffin, firelighters and materials which would take light. police believed the culprits were caught in the act, running leaving behind the bags
Two and a bit years ago I was down at Deepdale to meet the “gaffer”, or Peter Elliot, the man behind the fantastic Aberdeen FC Heritage paper the Black & Gold. A publication which I have been a part of since its inception. During this visit to see this historic club, Peter gave me a fantastic personal tour of the city which covered so many bases, fitba and historical wise, but also on his family who are from the area. One thing that stood out that night was the Wallace and Gromit bench on Earl Street. This because I showed Wee Man a photo and he told me he wanted to go to PNE so he could see the bench for himself. Since that visit I have promised him we would go. I had also always said to Peter that I would be back. Then the occasion popped up and better still, there was an addition to the city, a Feathers McGraw statue giving Wee Man even more ammo to come.
Back to Deepdale it was , this time with me and child and Peter also with his daughter Beth on the go. Pre-match saw a pint and food and a wee wander about. This including a look in the Black Horse bar, that’s definitely my type of place for sure complete with rare old fashioned ceramic bar. But there was also a nu-art theme similar to Aberdeen on the go. Some of which was quality work and great to look at. Obviously a visit to Wallace, Gromit and Feathers was ticked off and we were off to the fitba.
With the teams pretty much locked together in 15th and 16th and not mathematically clear of relegation (although a lot would have to go wrong for either to go down) I felt this could be a decent game and said so over a pint in the concourse before heading to our seats. (Pints under the stand, imagine that).As we did come out the gate to head up the stairs the Wallace and Gromit theme tune was sounding out of the tannoy, much to Wee Man’s amusement. Back to matters on the park, how I was wrong about the “decent” part of my prediction. Theres not much to say on the game. This was slow, it was full of unforced errors and it was a hard watch that didnt really seem to go anywhere in the first half. To be fair to Preston they had a huge chunk of the ball in the first half, quite late on Wee Man checked the stats on Livescore and PNE were sitting on 72% possession but they were doing nothing with it. The game was held up for a long time towards the end of the half when QPR man Koki Saito went down with an injury bad enough to see him stretchered off. It came after a hard fall so possibly a shoulder injury you would imagine. There was more action by the medical staff looking after him than there had been in the game. He was replaced by a Sideshow Bob doppelganger for the remaining minutes of the half. As already said, a poor one at that with little to nothing of note. Both teams had half chances but nothing solid and it seemed it would be a stalemate at half time. This until Robbie Brady swung a perfect ball on to the bonce of Liam Lindsay who diverted the ball past Paul Nardi. Unexpected but deserved overall.
HT 1 v 0
QPR had clearly been given a rocket during the break and looked a much better side. They saw a load more of the ball and were causing the PNE defence a bit of bother. Especially the aforementioned Sideshow Bob or to give him his real name, Rayan Kolli, although the hirsute man is not the most gifted and a bit raw he definitely puts himself about and did fashion a couple of solid chances. A pest to the back line of Preston. The fact the London club were more in it killed the atmosphere in Deepdale, the place went as good as quiet, even the intermittent banging of the drum could not have been classed as intermittent any more as it became that scarce. The talk between us all was pretty much along these lines, “QPR will score here” and that they finally did on 80 minutes when substitute Michael Frey turned well to strike an effort into Cornell’s bottom left corner, this from just inside the box. This leading to a rare bit of noise from the visiting fans. This also made Wee Man quiet as it looked as if I was going to get the correct score. However, I ensured him QPR were to score again as did Peter. You could see it coming. While the QPR fans were positively booming, the home fans turned on their team immediately after the equaliser like somebody flicked a switch. “what the fucking hell was that?, what the fuckin…..” was directed at their own player who made an error on the touchline. “What a load of rubbish, what a load of rubbish” then rang out. It was an incredible switch of attitude. Football fans are fickle beasts. Then in the 93rd minute it got worse as QPR snuck the full quota of points with a superb strike. But totally avoidable from a PNE point of view. Preston number 10 Mads Frokjaer retrieved a clearing header, he tried to knock it back to where it came from but could only find other QPR sub in Lucas Andersen 30 yards out, a first touch to set up was followed by a howitzer of an effort from 25 yards from Cornell’s top corner where the ball bulleted its way into. What a way to win a game and what a time to do so. The boos rang out and the ground started clearing rapidly. The mood of the home fans was as black as the rain filled sky above. The final whistle sounded almost immediately and for the second time I failed to see the Lillywhites win on home soil(1 v 1 with Luton Town previously). It didn’t take the shine of what was an enjoyable day and a good catch up with the “gaffer”.
Entrance – Me £30, Wee Man £5
Attendance – 14922 (official)
Pie – £4.95, pie
Pint – £5.60, Amstel, in the stand
Score Predictions – Me 1 v 1 , Wee Man 0 v 0, Peter 2 v 1, Beth 3 v 2
Season Score Predictions Total – Me 4 v 4 Wee Man
FITBAWBAG 