Ali McCann is either a lucky charm or a real difference maker, though we aren’t exactly ruling out the possibility of both being true.
Preston picked up their second win of the week on Saturday afternoon, beating Norwich City 3-2 at Carrow Road.
The 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion was a huge boost for North End and they took that momentum into Saturday’s clash with Norwich – but only after conceding an early goal to Josh Sargent.
Emil Riis fired a brace to turn the game on its head only for Gabriel Sara to seemingly rescue a point for the hosts.
Instead, Preston went down the other end and won it with Troy Parrott’s effort somehow sneaking in at the near post.
Three points against a promotion favourite is nothing to sniff at and Preston will be delighted to make it two wins in two.
There were a number of key performances but we have to give a special mention to Ali McCann.
The Northern Ireland midfielder was hit with the bug that struck the North End camp and was even throwing up at half time on Saturday.
McCann kept plugging away though and gave his all in yet another battling performance in the Preston engine room.
There is something impressive about McCann too; he has been on the pitch for every Preston goal this season.
Others can boast that too but those players haven’t quite been as in and out of the team as McCann.
From his two-goal salvo at Huddersfield Town and his assist for Ben Woodburn at Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup to all three of Saturday’s goals, McCann has been there.
We truly believe that McCann should now be one of the first names on the team sheet, with his energy, tenacity and box-to-box ability proving absolutely vital.
It also seems like McCann may be something of a lucky charm as well though, and we can only hope this run continues against Bristol City on Wednesday night.