In an absorbing encounter at Deepdale, Birmingham City scored a late equaliser to deny Ryan Lowe a third league win in a row for Preston North End.
Preston should have put the game to bed before Scott Hogan scored for The Blues, but there was still plenty of positives to take from the second home game of Ryan Lowe’s reign.
Sepp keeps on getting better and better
In the 12 months that Sepp van den Berg has been at the club we have watched him grow in confidence and become a hugely important member of the first-team. He is still raw with plenty to learn having just turned 20 in December, but it’s a joy to watch him develop. On Saturday playing as the right sided centre-half, he looked assured throughout, getting himself out of tight situations by beating his man rather than lumping the ball forward.
Playing as somewhat of a wide centre-back, he enjoyed success from carrying the ball forward, and allow Brad Potts to push on outside of him. It created options for other players in the team and it is something Ryan Lowe will encourage more to bring a offensive style of play to the side.
Who knows what the future hold for the young Dutchman, with his loan deal set to expire at the end of the season. Chances at Liverpool will be hard to come by as Ben Davies found last season, and Jurgen Klopp will have been happy with how this loan move panned out. Could another season at North End be on the cards for him? The fans would love to see it.
Cunningham proves he’s still got plenty to give
Greg Cunningham will have been frustrated with his limited game time since returning to the club, and said as much recently in an interview with the Lancashire Evening Post. Josh Earl has played the left-wing back role for the majority of this season since impressing early on in the away game at Huddersfield Town. His performances of late haven’t been up to scratch though, and a knock gave Cunningham a chance against Birmingham.
The Irishman suffered some bad injuries in the last few years, at Preston, Cardiff City and on loan at Blackburn Rovers. He’s not the same player we saw in his first spell at the club but he can still offer a lot. He shows more urgency than Earl in his play and is keen to be as attacking as possible. He loves a one-two and cutting into the box, and he has a fine delivery on him as well.
His display against Birmingham will have impressed Lowe and I imagine he may get a few more chances under him, unless another option is brought in during this transfer window. He’s a passionate player, and has captained this club before. We need leaders in that team and for me Cunningham can still prove to be a key part of the new setup.
Lowe’s style of play is clear to see
It’s still very early days under Ryan Lowe, but we are already a much more enjoyable side to watch. We look to attack a lot more now, and although we haven’t come across any quality sides in the division yet since he took over, it’s refreshing to see a more offensive style of play as we look to take the game to the opposition. The wing-backs kick on a lot more now, and Daniel Johnson sees a lot more of the ball and drives forward with it.
Of course on Saturday we lacked a clinical edge in the final third, but at least we were getting in those situations. We look to play football on the ground and Alan Browne and DJ will roam from their central midfield options. Emil Riis hasn’t had his best games under Lowe yet, but when he finds his form their should be plenty more goals in this team than we had seen in the first half of the season.
Lowe has said we are 60% there of where he wants us to be. There’s more to come but it is an encouraging start.
The Town End have found their voice again
After 17 months without fans at Deepdale, they returned this season but in truth had little to get excited about. The home games were drab on the whole with very few goals to enjoy. In the second half on Saturday the stadium broke out into a chant of ‘We’re the one and only North End’, and it had been quite some time since we had heard the ans in such fine voice at home.
It was a response to the encouraging football seen under Lowe, and a sign that he has been accepted as the man to take this club forward so quickly. ‘Ryan Lowe’s super white army’ soon followed as the fans looked to suck the ball into the net themselves as North End pushed for a second goal. The new manager has quite simply given us the boost we so desperately needed at a time when many were falling out of love with the club.
Tickets for the home game against Blackpool go on sale on Wednesday 19th January, and it would be great if come the game on 5th April, we find ourselves in a sold out Deepdale full of North End fans singing their appreciation of this fine club once more.