Alex Neil tips hat to Preston North End Gentry after Bolton victory

SLIDESHOW: Preston North End celebrate Gentry Day win over Bolton

Just short of 4,000 travelling fans marked their annual day of remembrance at the Macron Stadium and had an afternoon to remember.

Tom Barkhuizen’s goal early in the second half cancelled out Marc Beevers’ opener which had come against the run of play 12 minutes in.

It was Sean Maguire’s day though, the Irishman returned as a substitute after four months out to score twice and seal victory.

Neil was full of praise for the support his side received and is hoping for more of the same with two big home games to come against Bristol City and Fulham as North End continue their push for the Championship play-offs.

“It was fantastic,” the PNE boss said.

“Our away fans are magnificent. I just hope that when we go back to our place they can generate that type of atmosphere as well.

“Because the 4,000 we brought here were in fine voice throughout the game.

“They willed the lads on, they didn’t get frustrated with them when they were losing and just kept us going.

“I think we rewarded them with a really good performance and a great win.”

Maguire was the man of the hour, making light of his lengthy spell on the sidelines after a serious hamstring injury to score in the 77th and 92nd minutes in a blistering appearance off the bench.

“I just felt that we needed that little bit of incisiveness that he brings us,” Neil said.

“He’s not played for a long time but that fact is he’s now scored six goals, our top scorer has eight.

“It just shows you how important he is to us when we’ve missed him for three or four months of the season.

“The fact that we are where we are in the table having missed that type of quality just speaks volumes of the squad that we’ve got.

“He will help and deliver crucial bits of quality between now and the end of the season because that’s what he’s capable of."