Preston North End recorded their first win at The Hawthorns for nearly 50 years, as they comfortably beat West Bromwich Albion 2-0 on Wednesday night.
It was a second away win from three games for Ryan Lowe, and that is now 11 points from his first 6 games in charge. Very impressive considering the tough games he’s had recently, and the momentum can continue to build.
Cunningham is great in those attacking areas
We saw it plenty of times in his first spell with the club but not so much in his second. One thing I like about Greg Cunningham is his bursting runs into attacking areas. Playing as a left-wing back he’s given even more freedom in this role, and he’s encouraged to get up the pitch and support the attackers. He loves an overlap and he likes to get into the area to whip a ball across goal.
We saw exactly that on Wednesday night as some nice play down the left hand side saw Cunningham released in the area. He played a difficult ball into the six yard box that was nudged towards goal by Kyle Bartley before Emil Riis got the final touch.
It’s been suggested he hasn’t quite got the legs anymore for the role, but in the second half he galloped forward to support another counter attack, and his ball led to the second goal.
It’s not really something we would see from Josh Earl who is far more conservative in the attacking third, and his crossing is nowhere near the standard of Cunningham’s. Lowe wants the team to attack more, and he will have been very impressed with Cunningham particularly in the first half as he linked up with Ched Evans very well.
Organised defence and counter attacking football
It’s exactly what’s needed for this type of game. West Bromwich Albion away is always going to be a tough encounter. They are pushing for an immediate return to the Premier League and Valerien Ismael is under pressure. The boos exemplified that from the home supporters. For Ryan Lowe this was probably his toughest test yet on paper but one he would relish.
Buoyed by the comeback against Sheffield United last week, North End were up for this battle. The defence had to stay resolute against a talented attacking trio of Matt Phillips, Karlan Grant and Grady Diangana before Callum Robinson entered the fray. Quite some money has been spent on that quarter but a Preston defence led by the ever reliable Patrick Bauer and the always improving Sepp van den Berg stayed strong.
It allowed the counter attacks to commence, and Emil Riis is always a willing runner, and can rely on through balls from the midfield. Evans is able to hold the ball up and drift out wide to allow more men to enter the attack. When it works, it’s great, and probably typical of a Ryan Lowe side in this situation.
A first Preston game and goal for Cameron Archer
It’s a signing that whet the appetite for many fans, and he had a song sung by them minutes after his introduction. Riis made way for Archer, and it was his job to help see out the game with Evans, and then Sean Maguire. He wasn’t going to be seeing much of the ball with The Baggies chasing the game, but the Walsall lad with his family watching on will have been happy to get his first taste of Championship football.
His first goal for the club couldn’t have been any easier, nodding in from one yard out but give him credit for being in the right place at the right time. He clearly enjoyed the celebrations running over to the wild Preston fans. Archer has a chance to become a hero between now and the end of the season.
A first clean sheet since October
Preston have found clean sheets hard to come by this season, and hadn’t kept one since beating Luton Town 2-0 in October. Not many would have predicted us getting one away to West Brom; a team who had yet to taste defeat at home this season, and had only conceded six goals in their previous 13 games at The Hawthorns. Much like the away game against Bournemouth earlier in the season, North End surprised many.
West Brom were frustrated and sloppy throughout and the fans were constantly on their back. Preston played up to this and continued to block any of their attacks and push forward when they could.
Every man in that team put in a good shift, it was great to have Andrew Hughes back in defence who was solid again as well.
The fans provided the 12th man
The Preston fans made the trip to the midlands in their numbers on Wednesday night. Many will have booked this as a more viable trip to make during the Christmas holidays. However a month delay due to a postponement wouldn’t have put many off. Fans are almost clamouring to see a new, entertaining side now. Ryan Lowe has injected belief into these players, and in his six games in charge, we have seen plenty to buy into and build upon.
They were loud and proud throughout and that has a huge effect on the players. It did against Sheffield United last week and they were backed all the way against The Baggies. They bounce off each other, and the Preston team gave the fans plenty to shout about, A first half lead was unexpected but the way they saw the game out was wonderful. For many of us, it’s almost ingrained into us that ‘it won’t last’ or ‘we’ll let them get back into it’. Especially in these type of games, against teams with far more quality than us. But not on Wednesday night. We have a team of fighters now, and those away fans were treated to another famous Ryan Lowe fist pump after the game.
We’re finally all on the same page again. The club, the fans and the team are all moving in the right direction. Long may it continue.