Preston North End midfielder Ali McCann turned in a superb performance during Saturday’s 0-0 draw against Hull City.
North End knew that a win would really tilt the play-off push up another notch with a win on Saturday.
Opponents Hull City occupied the fourth and final play-off spot heading into the game, just three points ahead of North End.
That’s why a PNE win would have been enormous, but it just wasn’t to be.
The game ended in a 0-0 draw, keeping PNE just three points off the play-off places and in the hunt for the end-of-season promotion fight.
Ali McCann shines in PNE draw
This was another strong team performance from North End, posing a threat going forward and keeping the door shut at the other end.
One of the key individual performances came from midfielder Ali McCann though as he was simply relentless in the PNE engine room.
McCann was the heartbeat in North End’s midfield and helped break up Hull attacks with aplomb.
Four interceptions and four tackles summed up McCann’s impact; nobody on either side recorded higher numbers in either category during Saturday’s game.
McCann was impressive against Coventry City last week too, but this performance was even better.
The Northern Irishman is hopefully finding his best form now whilst being deployed in a perfect role for him.
McCann’s best work comes when he can hassle the opposition, break up play and move the ball onto the likes of Ben Whiteman and Mads Frøkjær-Jensen.
Playing McCann as a wing back or even as a more attack-minded midfielder, as we saw at times last season, just isn’t really his game.
Now focusing on the defensive side of things, McCann is staking a claim for a regular starting role even when Brad Potts returns, which could see Alan Browne move from wing back into midfield.
Right now, it’s difficult to argue that McCann should be taken out of the side and Saturday’s display was just another fine example of what the £1.2million signing from St Johnstone can provide.