RS Sport

It was good to be back at Deepdale yesterday, three months after a narrow 2-1 win over Burton Albion saw North End narrowly miss out on the play offs.

It was a solid performance from North End against Steve McClaren’s QPR, Alan Browne’s 50th minute header the goal that separated the two teams.

QPR set up relatively defensively but they had their chances – Declan Rudd making a fine close range save late on to clinch the win for North End – and you would not bet against their attacking midfielder Eberechi Eze playing higher up the ladder in a few years’ time.

All the talk before the season opener was about the lack of striking options with Sean Maguire’s injury, although Louis Moult had a good game.

He looked more like the finished article than he did last season, and linked up very well with his team mates – something you would expect to have developed over pre season.

He faced a tough battle against QPR’s German defender Toni Leistner, who is probably one of the strongest centre backs in the Championship, Moult winning his fair share of headers.

There were no real attempts on goal for Moult, something which he will want to improve on, but his all round play was encouraging.

Whether more competition arrives for the forward role before next week, with Moult the only senior striker available at the moment, remains to be seen.

The back four looked solid, Andrew Hughes slotting in seamlessly on his North End debut.

The left back, signed from Peterborough earlier in the summer, put in some strong challenges and also looked threatening in the opposing half.

The head injury to Tom Clarke (a potential concussion) will be a concern ahead of next Saturday’s trip to Swansea – the PNE captain was preferred to Paul Huntington alongside man of the match Ben Davies at the heart of the defence and he had a solid game.

Ben Pearson, perhaps surprisingly, avoided a yellow card yesterday and put in a strong performance, just as North End fans are now used to seeing from the 23 year old.

Callum Robinson did well going forward and there were noticeable improvements in his defensive work, something that Daryl Horgan matched when he came on.

Horgan now looks to be firmly in Neil’s plans, whether that be as a starter or from the bench, and he brought renewed energy to the North End attack when he was introduced late on.

Some of his early crosses were wayward but there is no doubting his crossing ability and you would expect the quality of those to improve with game time this early in the season.

With a tough run of games coming up for North End, yesterday’s win and the performance is an encouraging start to the season with some new faces possibly arriving in time for next Saturday.

All the talk in the previous week has been about the introduction of ‘The Hundred’ – the ECB’s new proposal aiming to introduce more kids into the game of cricket.

All they had to do was watch last night’s brilliant Roses game between Lancashire and Yorkshire.

The crowd – a record attendance of any domestic T20 game outside of London and Finals Day – stood at 22,515.

The night started with rain, delaying the match by almost an hour and half and causing the match to be reduced to 14 overs a side, but by around 10pm the mood was completely different around Old Trafford.

You only had to take one look at the teams to see that this was going to be a cracker of a match.

Jos Buttler made his first appearance of the season for Lancashire, opening the batting, while David Willey, Kane Williamson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid and Joe Root in for Yorkshire.

It was Willey that took the early punishment, opening the bowling after Yorkshire captain Steven Patterson had sent Lancashire in to bat, his second over being carted for 14 after Liam Livingstone had smashed 18 off Tim Bresnan’s first over.

Livingstone, eventually named man of the match, was in unstoppable form and he brought up his 50 in just 5.3 overs.

England’s Rashid had a night to forget, with Livingstone, Arron Lilley and Jordan Clark all getting the better of him.

Livingstone carried on swinging, and it took an exceptional diving catch from Root at mid off to remove him from the crease.

The hitting didn’t stop there though, Clark and Lilley taking 19 off Rashid’s third over.

Another 17 came off the 14th over as Lancashire racked up a mammoth 174/2.

In most normal circumstances, you’d give the opposition no chance of chasing such a high score.

But T20 has changed a lot in the last few years, and Yorkshire now had one of the most fearsome batting attacks in county cricket.

Opener Adam Lyth took the game to the Red Rose quickly, hitting 22 off one Toby Lester over.

He went for one big shot too many in the 7th over, caught by Livingstone off leg spinner Matt Parkinson for 60, but his innings had put Yorkshire in with a shout.

In came Joe Root, who gave everyone watching an exhibition showing why he is England’s number one batsman.

After Willey, who had opened the batting with Lyth, was stumped off Parkinson, he was joined by Liam Plunkett, promoted up to number four with his big hitting skills in mind.

He dispatched Parkinson out of the ground in the 11th, and another Root six meant Yorkshire needed 46 from the last 3 overs – still advantage Lancashire you would say.

Clark bowled Plunkett around his pads with the first ball of the 12th, and when Bresnan became the next wicket to fall off the penultimate over, Lancashire looked in the ascendency.

But Root was still there, and with 17 needed off the final over, bowled by Lester, he took 12 off the first four balls.

The only mistake Root made in his innings was running a single off the penultimate ball, leaving Yorkshire needing four off the last ball but crucially giving new batsman Williamson the strike.

Williamson could only find the leg side fielder with his slog, and Lancashire clinched an epic by one run to stay top of the North group.

Preston North End go into their opening day fixture against QPR looking to extend their unbeaten home record against their opponents that has stood since before this century.

Alex Neil’s side did the double over the Hoops last season, a 1-0 win at Deepdale followed by a crucial 2-1 win at Loftus Road in April.

QPR haven’t had the greatest record of late against PNE, having failed to win any of the last six meetings between the two.

Their last victory came in 2010, courtesy of a brace from Adel Taarabt and a Rob Hulse strike.

The R’s team that day featured ex-PNE man Patrick Agyemang, 21 of his 72 career league goals having come for the Lilywhites.

That season ended with contrasting fortunes for both clubs, with QPR promoted to the Premier League under Neil Warnock and North End relegated to League One.

The Hoops then enjoyed two seasons in the Premier League, under Warnock, Mark Hughes and Harry Redknapp.

Although they did bounce straight back to the top flight under Redknapp in 2014 after relegation, they went down again after one season and have fallen into financial turmoil since.

A UEFA report published last summer showed QPR held the fifth highest debt of any European club, a staggering £242m (€279m).

Their big spending days are certainly behind them now, the club looking at cheaper incomings as well as promoting their promising youth products.

One of those, Paul Smyth, made a goal-scoring Northern Ireland debut earlier this summer, when he notched the winner against South Korea.

I spoke with Mark Davis, QPR fan & co-founder of the fan group Hoops Down Under (@hoopsdownunder), who gave his thoughts on the opening game and the upcoming season in general:

1) There were mixed reactions from QPR fans to Ian Holloway’s sacking and Steve McClaren’s subsequent appointment as manager, what were your thoughts?

I felt for Ollie to be honest but wasn’t surprised he was shown the exit door. Even though the team improved on their previous season and we saw more youth players given first team opportunities, Ollie’s biggest issue was the team not being able to find any consistency and our dour away form didn’t improve at all. It’s been our Achilles heel for numerous years now.

Steve McClaren was a surprise appointment and I must admit comments from Newcastle fans didn’t give me any vote of confidence off the top. But as I with every managerial chance (& let’s be honest, we’ve had a few), I’ll support Steve all the way, like I did Ollie before that.

2) From a fans’ perspective, what would be the ideal season for the club realistically?

Well with a change of managers, we seriously can’t afford to go backwards.

The club are still hand tied with this FFP fine breathing down our necks and until that’s sorted, QPR are going to have to rely on funds from transfer sales & continue to give youth a shot at Championship football.

Last season we finished 16th, so I’m thinking somewhere between 8th-10th would be a pass mark. Playoffs would be a surprise bonus.

3) What sort of business do you think QPR need to do in the transfer market before the first game of the season, given that a few high profile players have left or been released?

We need a few defenders and a prolific striker. We struggled for goals the last two seasons and our position on the ladder reflected this.

The sale of Smithies was disappointing but it had to be done. I think fans were expecting to get more for Alex but we have no idea how it all ultimately played out.

We’ve signed German central defender Toni Leistner and by all reports he sounds like a promising player so fingers crossed. Hopefully a few more signings to come but it’s safe to say those crazy big spending days are well and truly behind us…thank god.

4) Although he didn’t feature for Australia, Massimo Luongo was the sole QPR representative at the World Cup, how important a player will he be this season?

Luongo has been improving every season and as QPR fans from Australia, it’s only natural that we want to see Massimo continue down this path. This could be his biggest season yet and if so, I think QPR will hugely benefit from his control in the midfield. In saying that, I do hope McClaren has big plans for Massimo this coming season.

5) Which other players will PNE need to watch out for on the opening day?

Luke Freeman fell away at the back end of the season but started 2017-18 with a hiss and a roar. I expect PNE will have to keep Freeman at bay if he starts the new season in a similar fashion. Matt Smith looks like he’s shed some weight in the summer so could be dangerous up front, combining with Smyth or (Eberechi) Eze.

It’s going to be intriguing to see what lineup McClaren picks & the formation he uses for this match given our very very poor away record. A draw would be a nice result.

 

All the best to PNE for the season ahead

Preston midfielder Alan Browne said that he was delighted to add another goal to his collection last night and contribute to an important win for the team.

The Irishman has been a key fixture in Alex Neil’s side this season, with Browne being one of the team’s most consistent performers.

He scored his fourth league goal of the season last night to help Preston towards a crucial 2-1 win over Bristol City.

The latest, a chip from 25 yards, was arguably his most impressive.

Browne was pleased that he could help contribute to the team’s win.

He said: “I’ll take any goal to be honest but scoring again today was really important for myself and the team.

“They (Bristol City) are a great team so to go to their place and get the three points and to come here and get another three points is fantastic.”

Browne scored a similar goal against Cardiff earlier on in the season, that being from a further distance out.

When comparing the two goals, he said: “They were quite similar in how they happened.

“The Cardiff goal was about trying to get distance on it and to keep it on target.

“Tonight was more about accuracy than anything.”

Browne’s first half effort gave North End the lead, before Famara Diedhou equailsed for the visitors midway through the second half.

Sean Maguire scored what turned to be the winner for Preston, his second in two games since returning from a long injury lay off, his introduction in the second half changing the complexion of the match.

And Browne was full of praise for his compatriot.

“He has come on in the last two games and made a massive impact.

“With Sean you can give it to his feet and he can hold it up or run in behind.

“His pace and frightening and his finishing is second to none.

“He has come back at the right time – I think any teams coming up against him will fear him and rightly so because of the qualities he possesses.”

Last night’s win meant Preston moved up one place in the table to 8th, now just one point off 6th placed Middlesbrough in the race for the final play off place.

With in form Fulham coming up on Saturday, the team knew how important last night’s game was.

Browne said: “We knew coming here today that it was a massive game, not a defining game but one we knew was important.

“We weren’t focusing on the Fulham game, we put all our focus into today’s game and got our tactics right.

“We came close to the play offs last season and we were disappointed to miss out but we’re taking it game by game and trying to pick up as many points as we can between now and the end of the season.”

Preston’s number eight has had an excellent month, being nominated for the PFA Player of the Month award for the Championship as well as being named man of the match in four successive games.

Browne praised manager Alex Neil for putting faith in him and helping him to improve as a player this season.

“The gaffer is starting to get the best out of me and he’s given me confidence to get into areas to go and attack, take people on and shoot.

“It’s something I needed to add to my game and he’s put belief in me and to go and do it.

“I’m trying to do my best to pay him back and do my best for the team.”

For any fan who doesn’t follow any of the eleven teams left in the FA Cup, there aren’t many standout ties at the last eight stage.

In fact, there is a real prospect of the ‘big four’ (Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham) being the four teams in the semi finals, you’d be forgiven for thinking the conclusion of the tournament is essentially a Premier League knockout.

United eased past Huddersfield, despite VAR controversy, and Chelsea put four past a belligerent Hull side.

City play Wigan tomorrow, although do not count out another win for a Premier League side.

However, the moment of the fifth round was Rochdale’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham at Spotland today.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side travelled to Turin on Tuesday to face Juventus and recorded the same result with a very credible performance.

Today, they were denied a clean route into the quarter finals by League 1’s basement side and 30-year-old Steven Davies.

Keith Hill’s Rochdale were not afraid of the top level opposition they were playing, and took the game to Spurs.

Goals from Lucas and Kane gave the away side the lead despite Ian Henderson’s opener, but the side 64 places behind their opponents equalised in stoppage time.

Another highlight was the 4,500 Coventry fans that travelled to the Amex for their tie against Brighton.

They went 3-0 down but never stopped chanting, and when Jonson Clarke-Harris pulled it back to 3-1 they went into another gear.

For a club that has had as many issues as the Sky Blues have had in the past few years, this cup run brings some hope back to the supporters.

They have club legend Mark Robins back in charge and look set for a League 2 promotion push.

They are not the only club to have had an enjoyable weekend however.

Paul Cook’s Wigan host Manchester City tomorrow, with a big crowd expected.

Latics would surely prefer to still be in the Premier League but memories of their FA Cup win in 2013, which arguably played a part in their subsequent relegation last season, will stay with the club forever.

Most Wigan fans have said they preferred an FA Cup win to staying in the Prem that season.

If they can somehow ensure that history repeats itself for a third time in six seasons by beating Pep Guardiola’s high flyers tomorrow, the conclusion of this year’s FA Cup will definitely be worth watching, with the draw far different to what many predict it will be following the replays.

2017 was full of sporting milestones throughout the year.

The year began with the PDC Darts World Championship and ended with Mo Farah being crowned Sports Personality of the Year, and England’s ultimately unsuccessful attempt to retain the Ashes Down Under.

Below are five major events of the year:

Michael van Gerwen wins his second PDC world title (2nd January)


The year started off well for Michael van Gerwen, who won his second darts world title at Alexandra Palace.

‘Mighty Mike’ beat Gary Anderson 7-3 in the final, capping off a tournament that broke numerous records.

The final saw 42 180’s hit, the most ever in a darts match.

Van Gerwen recorded the highest ever average in his semi final against Raymond van Barneveld (114.05 in a 6-2 win), made all the more impressive by the fact that Barney’s own average (109.34) was higher than either average in the final.

Tony Bellew beats David Haye at the O2 (3rd March)


The most talked about fight of 2017 to this point saw Tony ‘Bomber’ Bellew defeat David Haye at the O2 Arena.

Bellew was the underdog pre-match due to this being his first fight at heavyweight level.

The fight was close up until the sixth round, when Haye severely injured his ankle.

Bellew took control and won the fight in round 11 by TKO. At the time, Bellew was up on all three judges’ scorecards.

The fight was said to have been watched by over 890,000 people on PPV, with Haye earning over 60% of the purse despite defeat.

James Anderson becomes first Englishman to reach 500 Test wickets (8th September)


England bowler James Anderson went into the Test between England and West Indies at Lord’s knowing that three wickets would take him past the landmark of 500 Test scalps.

The feat arrived when he bowled Kraigg Brathwaite shortly after tea on the second day, although England went on to lose the match by five wickets in what was a shock win for the West Indies.

He became only the sixth player to reach the landmark, with Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan leading the list with 800 wickets.

Lewis Hamilton wins his fourth F1 world championship (29th October)


A first corner collision with title rival Sebastian Vettel did not stop Lewis Hamilton from claiming his fourth F1 world title.

The Briton qualified 3rd at Mexico although a puncture caused by the crash dropped him to the back of the field.

He recovered to finish 9th, and with Vettel needing at least 2nd to keep his hopes alive (he finished 4th), Hamilton secured the title with two races to go.

Hamilton had broken the record for the most pole positions earlier in the season (65), and broke Michael Schumacher’s record of 116 front row starts.

Manchester City break Premier League record for consecutive wins (10th December)

Manchester City’s 2-1 win at Manchester United gave them their 14th consecutive win in the Premier League, breaking the record.

Nicolas Otamendi’s second half goal was enough to secure victory after David Silva had opened the scoring and Marcus Rashford had equalised for United.

Ederson’s late second half save from Romelu Lukaku and then Juan Mata was vital in giving City the three points, maintaining their unbeaten campaign and sending them 11 points clear at the top.

Two late goals from Liam Moore and Leandro Bacuna rescued a point for Reading in a 2-2 draw at the Macron Stadium.

Phil Parkinson’s Bolton extended their unbeaten run to 7 games but let a 2-0 lead slip in the process.

Defender Reece Burke had put Bolton ahead in the 18th minute, before captain Darren Pratley made it two just 3 minutes later.

Moore pulled a goal back for Reading in the 75th minute, Bacuna then scoring from the spot after Mo Barrow was pushed in the box with just 8 minutes to go.

The first chance of the game came to Parkinson’s side, a poor backpass from the Reading defender allowed Gary Madine a chance but Reading goalkeeper Anssi Jaakkola was able to reclaim the ball before he could shoot.

Clear cut chances were hard to come by early doors with Jaap Stam’s side keeping the ball well, but the opening goal went to Bolton on 19 minutes.

Sammy Ameobi was brought down on the edge of the Reading area, Josh Vela delivering a free kick into the box which was initially flicked on then headed home by Reece Burke, who had returned to the starting line up in place of the suspended Mark Beevers.

To make matters worse for Reading, midfielder John Swift was forced off through injury before the goal, Pelle Clement replacing him.

It was 2-0 soon after, Bolton winning another corner on 23 minutes. Vela played the ball in again, this time captain Pratley was the man on hand in the box to head past Jaakkola to the bottom right of the Reading goal.

The closest Reading came to scoring in the first half was from their own corner – the ball was played in from the left, flicked on and headed wide of the far post.

Barrow had the clearest opportunity from open play of the half for the visitors, cutting inside past Mark Little on the left and shooting, but his effort was too weak to test Bolton ‘keeper Alnwick who handled it comfortably.

HT – Bolton 2-0 Reading

The second half began slowly, with the first real opportunity falling to Reading’s Roy Beerens in the 53rd minute – good work from Chris Gunter down the right allowed him to play a ball in but the Dutchman headed over from close range.

Bolton struggled to put as much pressure on the visitors in the second half as in the first, their first chance falling to Karl Henry, who fired over from inside the box.

Jon Dadi Bodvarsson came on in the 66th minute, with Reading’s continued pressure telling soon after.

The ball was played in from the right hand side and although there was a deflection in the box, no-one could stop Moore from sliding in at the back post to half Reading’s deficit.

Jaap Stam’s side continued to press forward, with Bacuna attempting another long range effort on 80 minutes although this time it was wide of the right post.

The game’s turning point came in the 82nd minute, Barrow charging into the box only to be brought down by Ameobi.

Bacuna took responsibility from the spot and fired home into the bottom left, Alnwick diving the opposite way.

Bolton had chances late on, Le Fondre firing wide with the aid of a deflection in injury time.

From the resulting corner, the header was won by Bolton although Jaakkola made a crucial save down to his right.

He was called into action again when Gary Madine connected with a cross inside the box, his reactions enabling him to parry the ball away from close range, ensuring that Reading came away from the Macron with a much-deserved point.

FT – Bolton 2-2 Reading

Bolton XI – Alnwick, Little, Burke, Wheater, Robinson, Pratley, Henry, Ameobi (Noone 87), Vela (Le Fondre 87), Armstrong (Buckley 80), Madine

Subs – Howard (GK), Le Fondre (on 87), Buckley (on 80), Noone (on 87), Cullen, Derik, Darby

Reading XI – Jaakkola, Gunter, McShane, Moore, Blackett (Kelly 70), Edwards, Bacuna, Swift (Clement 19), Barrow, Beerens (Bodvarsson 66), Aluko

Subs – Legg (GK), Ilori, Clement (on 19), Bodvarsson (on 66), Kelly (on 70), Richards, Loader

Att: 13130

Chorley manager Matt Jansen said in his pre-match Emirates FA Cup press conference this afternoon that his side “will do everything to win the game” ahead of Monday’s clash with Fleetwood in the first round proper.

The game will see Chorley take part in the first round for the first time in 27 years, after beating Bury 2-1 at this stage in the 1990/91 FA Cup before losing 1-0 to Shrewsbury in the second round.

“That is the magic of the FA Cup”, Jansen said.

“It is great for clubs like this to boost the community, to boost gate receipts and the budget.”

“We will be going into it to win this game and as will Fleetwood. I know my players will give everything.”

Jansen was joined at the press conference by Dave Riche, who discussed Fleetwood’s rise up the leagues, with Uwe Rosler’s side having competed in the same league Chorley are currently in just five years ago.

“I spent time at Fleetwood five years ago when they were in the Conference North.

“One key thing they did was build up the infrastructure – when I joined here I told Graham (Watkinson, vice chairman) and Ken (Wright, chairman) that we have to build an infrastructure.

“We can learn a lot from Fleetwood and it’s a case of cementing partnerships which we are very keen to do with Fleetwood off the field as well.”

One bonus in particular for Chorley as a result of the cup draw is the financial aspects.

“Financially, the TV money and sponsorship is a big injection for the club”, Riche said.

“We will be able to claim a six figure fee from this cup so far. We’ve been fortunate enough to bring in some great sponsorship for this game but there are other things we are doing as well.

“We’ve kept ticket prices the same, U12s free, it’s encouraging to see as we want some of those to see the atmosphere on the night and want to come back.”

“We don’t want young kids to follow Manchester United or Chelsea, we want them to be true to their hometown roots because that’s how clubs like us survive.”

Jansen also confirmed the signing of highly rated ‘keeper Oliver Byrne from Cardiff on a one month youth loan.

“We have got a goalkeeper in place, he’s got international clearance – Oliver Byrne from Cardiff. Andy Dibble and Bryan Gunn highly recommended him.

“I met him on Tuesday night, he’s a big unit and a confident kid so hopefully he’ll do a good job for us.”