Preston beat Bamber Bridge 3-0 on Saturday afternoon with Ben Woodburn scoring as North End started pre-season with a victory.
Whilst much of the focus is on Preston’s trip to Spain in the coming days, Ryan Lowe took his side to the Sir Tom Finney Stadium on Saturday.
Lowe played a different XI in each half, giving chances to young players around the senior core of the Preston squad.
The first half wasn’t exactly a thriller, finishing 0-0 whilst striker Seani Maguire went off injured inside the first 10 minutes.
The goals flowed in the second half though with Ben Whiteman scoring from the penalty spot after Andrew Hughes was brought down.
Trialist Ben Woodburn then made it 2-0 before Mikey O”Neill grabbed the third, securing a 3-0 victory for North End.
It’s all about fitness in pre-season but a comfortable win is always welcome in the first pre-season game.
This game will have certainly meant a lot to trialist Woodburn, who is attempting to win a contract with Preston this summer.
Woodburn is a free agent having been released by Premier League giants Liverpool this summer.
Previously tipped for a huge future at Liverpool, Woodburn burst onto the scene back in 2016 but that’s about as good as it got.
Loan spells with Sheffield United, Oxford United, Blackpool and Hearts didn’t help Woodburn’s Liverpool cause and he has now arrived at Preston.
North End boss Lowe is a big Liverpool fan and now wants to try and give Woodburn the chance to get his career back on track.
It’s only a goal against non-league Bamber Bridge, so it’s hard to go overboard with Woodburn’s start to life with Preston.
Woodburn ultimately needs to take every chance he can get though, and beginning with a goal in his first Preston appearance is certainly a positive start.