There isn’t any football on right now due to the ongoing pandemic, but Preston gave fans something to enjoy today.
North End decided to show a stream of Preston’s 3-0 League One play-off semi-final win over Chesterfield, having shown the first leg a couple of days ago.
Next up will be the 2015 final that saw Preston return to the Championship, but there was plenty to celebrate just from today’s stream.
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Much of the focus was on Jermaine Beckford. He scored the opener at Deepdale having also scored the only goal in the away leg, continuing his stunning goalscoring form. Beckford sealed the win with the third goal at Deepdale, scoring from the halfway line in one of the most memorable goals in Deepdale history.
Yet fans also loved seeing Joe Garner in a Preston shirt once again. He set up Beckford’s opener in the second leg with a superb flick on, before smashing home a penalty to make it 2-0.
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Garner celebrated wildly at full time as his boyhood club made it to Wembley, and today’s stream allowed fans to reminisce about his time with North End.
A lifelong Preston fan, Garner became a hero with 24 goals in the 2013-14 season, and then 27 in the following campaign despite missing time through injury. It wasn’t just goals though; Garner always wore his heart on his sleeve, always had a knack for winding up defenders and scored one of Preston’s greatest goals ever against Rotherham United.
The goals sadly dried up in the Championship, and he has since featured for Rangers, Ipswich Town and Wigan Athletic, still playing with the latter as he approaches his 32nd birthday.
Garner is still highly-regarded by Preston fans, and some took to Twitter today to admit how much they miss the striker almost four years since his departure, with his performance against Ian Evatt impressive throughout – and some would even love to see him come back to North End at some point, such is his hero status here.
https://twitter.com/DanRaymond91/status/1246805111093047297
https://twitter.com/Bobby_Melling/status/1246803492657905664