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Preston v Swansea
With the loss of our star striker and top scorer to a rival Championship club and one that is below us in the table, on the eve of our next league match, moral must be low in the camp.
After falling short by only 3 points for a play-off spot with that unbeaten run last season, this season has seen us go backwards so far.
Our fourth league match of the season, without a win, and our best players being cherry-picked at will by our rivals.
Can the new head-coach lift the players left and gel them into a winning combination with his new system of play?
It will take time they say, but we don’t have time. We’ve had five years of time since our demise from the PL. Our huge turnover of players and managers has left us permanently trying to rebuild each season.
Onwards to tomorrow’s game.
Getting anything at Deepdale, the home of the Lillywhites, will be hard.
Their transfer business so far, seven players out and six in during this window. Incoming - Mads Frokjaer-Jensen £1.2m from Odense, Layton Stewart from Liverpool, Will Keane and Jack Whatmough from Wigan, and Duane Holmes from Huddersfield.
Preston, unbeaten on 7 points from their first 3 games and 6th in the table, will be a tough nut to crack.
Will Duff continue with his three at the back conceding 5 goals already, or will he revert to a back four, especially now with centre-back Wood the next player to have one foot out of the door, Martin and Southampton the suitors.
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Cullen for Piroe, Wood plays, despite bids from Southampton. Congreve makes the subs bench.
Swans: Carl Rushworth, Harry Darling, Ben Cabango, Nathan Wood, Harrison Ashby, Jay Fulton, Matt Grimes (c), Charlie Patino, Josh Key, Jerry Yates, Liam Cullen.
Subs: Andy Fisher, Joe Allen, Jamie Paterson, Brandon Cooper, Mykola Kuharevich, Kyle Naughton, Ollie Cooper, Cameron Congreve, Azeem Abdulai.
Preston: Freddie Woodman, Liam Lindsay, Will Keane, Alan Browne (c), Mads Frokjaer, Jordan Storey, Andrew Hughes, Ryan Ledson, Duane Holmes, Kian Best, Brad Potts.
Subs: Dai Cornell, Greg Cunningham, Patrick Bauer, Ali McCann, Ben Woodburn, Felipe Rodriguez-Gentile, Jack Whatmough, Noah Mawene, Josh Seary.
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HT 0-1 Ashby 32’
Key to Patino, cross ball over for wing-back Ashby to brilliantly hit the back of the net.
One shot for each side on target.
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Preston 2 (Hughes 66’, Holmes 78’) - Swansea 1 (Ashby 32’)
Shocking defending for both goals
Down the bottom of the table in 20th place, two points from 12.
A shadow of the team we had on that unbeaten run at the end of last season.
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FFS boys, Swans one shot on target, where are we going, backwards for sure.
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Duff, as a former centre-back, needs to sort out our defence. If we have to revert to a back four to tighten up, let’s do it.
Darling seems the weaker of the three, and with Wood’s head turned by Southampton, we need experienced reinforcements.