Aiden McGeady on memorable Preston North End goals on debut and at Ewood Park
McGeady has been speaking to the Lancashire Post about his time at North End.
Ex-Preston North End loan man Aiden McGeady has spoken about two of the most memorable goals in his spell at the club.
The former winger, who retired from football in 2024 aged 38, was on loan at PNE from Everton during the 2016/17 season, scoring eight goals and registering nine assists across 35 games.
Two of those goals came on his debut at home to Barnsley in a 2-1 defeat, and in the 93rd minute of a dramatic 2-2 draw against Lancashire rivals Blackburn Rovers in March 2017.
In an interview with the Lancashire Post, he reflected on those strikes and the subsequent celebrations.
“Yeah, good times,” McGeady said, “I never knew how big a derby Blackburn-Preston was before I'd signed. But then obviously, when you're in the club, you feel it and obviously, Blackburn's so close by as well.
“Scoring on my debut against Barnsley, obviously, you want to go off to a good start whenever you sign for any club.
“I played quite well in the game. It was probably the first time I'd been nervous for a while in my career because I knew I had to hit the ground running. It was just lucky that I came inside and had a good strike with my left foot for about 25 yards. And from then on, I felt really confident.
“I was in a really good dressing room with great players as well and no egos.
“The equaliser at Blackburn, it was one of those ones where I don't think we played brilliantly on the day, but I remember the atmosphere and how many fans there were behind the goals.
“It was a really good team move, I was just in the right place, I think Tom Clarke cut the ball back to me.
“A few of the lads put the video in the group of how buzzing the fans were when I scored. I didn't realise how much it meant. And then I just remember after that, everybody was talking about the limbs at Ewood Park, so that's something that will always stay with me.”
McGeady loved playing in front of the North End fans who he says helped and encouraged him to bring the best out of himself.
“I loved it. It was one of those ones where I felt like the fans were really patient. I felt like you could try things and you could probably bring out the best version of yourself because the fans wouldn't moan if you gave the ball away once or twice. They would be patient and be backing the team.
“That was probably what brought the best out of me, because you know what it's like if you're playing on a pitch and you give the ball away a few times and you're trying mad things and, to be honest, I did try mad things at Preston and not all of them came off.
“But that was one thing that I felt the crowd and the fans really brought out in me. I really enjoyed it. Obviously, Preston's a big club, but it feels like a real family club and that was one thing that I really enjoyed about it.”
McGeady was speaking on behalf of Newbettingsites.uk.