Preston North End beat Swansea City on Tuesday night and Freddie Woodman came back to haunt his former club with a superb display.
PNE were back at Deepdale again for the second part of a home double-header.
North End beat Middlesbrough 2-1 over the weekend and were looking to make it two wins in two after the defeat to Blackpool.
That’s exactly what Ryan Lowe got as Brad Potts scored the only goal of the game in the first half.
The second half was a real backs-to-the-walls job though as PNE had to withstand real pressure from the Swans.
Lowe will have been delighted with his back three as they cleared, blocked and headed everything away.
Goalkeeper Woodman was simply outstanding though and gave a real reminder to Swansea of his quality.
Swansea came out looking for an equaliser in the second half and Jay Fulton leathered a strike a goal only for Woodman to deny him.
Ryan Manning then had a huge chance as he was played in on goal by a beautiful flick from Jamie Paterson.
Woodman rushed out made a fantastic save, blocking the ball with whatever he could get in the way – it looked like either high on the chest or in the face.
Woodman’s big saves in the second half secured a clean sheet and all three points for North End with Swansea no doubt left frustrated.
The 25-year-old spent two season on loan at Swansea, finishing in the playoffs in both seasons before returning to Newcastle United.
Not that Steven Benda or Andy Fisher are bad goalkeepers, but Swansea would surely love to have Woodman in goal now.
Woodman’s summer move from Newcastle was an enormous coup for PNE and it’s really showing in tight games like these, where another goalkeeper may not have been able to withstand the pressure.