PNE have stars in their eyes

You could take your pick from a good half-a-dozen of the side which triumphed over Sheffield Wednesday and put a dampener on their large travelling support’s big day out in Lancashire.

Adam Reach shone in his central role and got the nod from the match sponsors.

My tick in the box went next to Calum Woods’ name for his performance down the right-hand side in the wing-back role.

The fact it was his cross which set up the winning goal for Joe Garner was a plus point too.

Alan Browne, Tom Clarke, Greg Cunningham, and Paul Huntington – the ‘Cumbrian Cannavaro’ as he was described by a tweeter on social media – could also lay claim to the honour.

What won North End the three points was those strong individual displays slotting into an impressive team performance.

The defence was rock solid to the extent that the promotion-chasing visitors could not muster an effort on target throughout the 97 minutes of play.

In front of them, PNE’s midfield three got a tight enough grip of the game to halt the supply line up to the Wednesday attack.

With the aid of Woods and Cunningham to the side of them, the engine room got forward sufficiently to help create the contest’s clearer opportunities.

Up front, Reach played off Garner, revelling in the space he found and giving the hosts that link between midfield and attack.

For me, it was North End’s best performance at home this season, shading the Christmas win over Hull.

The Owls side they faced had come over the Pennines unbeaten in seven league matches, momentum which had carried them into the play-off frame.

More than 5,600 of their fans followed them across the M62 looking for more of the same but their journey home was ultimately to be a muted one.

Wednesday were a man down for half of the second period, Italian front man Fernando Forestieri sent for an early bath in the 66th minute.

It was probably the first time which Deepdale had witnessed a player getting yellow cards for simulation and deliberate handball in the same game.

He went to ground far too easily in the eyes of referee Keith Stroud when trying to find a way past Gallagher.

Forestieri compounded that by later throwing his hand at Atdhe Nuhui’s cross when he realised he was not going to reach it by fairer means.

His walk of shame from the penalty box at the Bill Shankly Kop end down to the tunnel was accompanied by plenty of unsympathetic singing from the North End fans who took great pleasure in reminding him that it was ‘time to go’.

On the pitch, PNE took full advantage of having the extra man, scoring within seven minutes of Forestieri’s dismissal.

However, don’t be drawn into thinking that the sole reason Simon Grayson’s men won it was because of the red card.

They had knocked on the door a few times in the first half, with Woods, Garner, Reach and Clarke all having a sight of goal.

Clear-cut chances were not quite as plentiful after the interval but then up popped Garner with the winner. Preston have now taken points off all of the nine clubs above them – until Saturday the Owls had been the odd one out courtesy of their 3-1 win at Hillsborough at the start of October.

With them now having broken into the division’s top 10, it does beg the question of whether they can make a late charge for the play-offs?

It still looks a long shot but they are within eight points of Wednesday who occupy the last play-off place.

Teams sneaking under the radar are not uncommon, so let’s see what the next few weeks brings.

Surely there is no need to look the other way any more, with North End 19 points clear of Rotherham in 22nd place and 20 better off than Bolton and Tuesday’s visitors Charlton.

Who would have thought that in the middle of October when PNE were propping up the Championship?

Since defeat in the reverse fixture to Wednesday four months ago, Grayson’s men have collected 38 points from 22 games.

For the Preston manager, this victory was a fine way to mark three years in the job, that anniversary falling last Thursday.

A clear week’s training had seen a game plan put in place, one which was executed to the letter on the pitch.

“I challenged the players beforehand that with three games in a week, let’s get a win to start with and see where it takes us,” said Grayson.

“Every one of them carried out the plan we had worked on in the week.

“I thought the system suited us again, when we had to defend, we defended and when we broke forward, we did that with some really good quality.

“We limited another top team to not having a shot on target.”

Grayson stuck to the same starting XI which had won at Wolves a week earlier, again going with the 3-5-1-1 system.

Of late, he has tended to use the wing-back formation in away games and revert to a flat back four at home.

But bearing in mind the visitors had arrived as top scorers in the division – they were overtaken by Burnley and Fulham – Grayson went for the extra safety of three centre-backs.

Of the seven sights of goal North End had in the first half, the best two fell the way of Garner and Clarke.

Garner met a Gallagher free-kick with a powerful header which his old Carlisle team-mate Keiran Westwood tipped around the post at full-stretch,

Another free-kick from Gallagher flicked off an Owls head and landed in the path of Clarke but the skipper’s shot on the turn went wide.

Forestieri collected his two yellow cards in the 49th and 66th minute and was probably still running the hot water when PNE scored their winner.

Gallagher got possession in midfield and laid the ball off to Woods on the right.

Woods switched it on to his left foot and arrowed over a fine cross, one which cleared covering defender Jack Hunt at the back post and found GARNER who rose to power home a header.

His joy at scoring for the first time since December 12 was evident, his flappy duck walk celebration making an appearance.

North End still had work to claim the points, Clarke’s tackle on substitute Lucas Joao in the six-yard box one of precision.

Six-and-a-half minutes of stoppage-time also had to be negotiated, that done with a minimum of fuss and a good deal of intelligent play.