Louis Moult pleased to get off the mark for PNE

Louis Moult had quite a while to wait for his first Preston goal but hopes he is now fully up-and-running in North End colours.
Louis Moult turns the ball home from Daniel Johnson's cross at HillsboroughLouis Moult turns the ball home from Daniel Johnson's cross at Hillsborough
Louis Moult turns the ball home from Daniel Johnson's cross at Hillsborough

The 25-year-old striker scored in PNE’s 4-1 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday on Good Friday.

At the time his goal looked to have offered the Lilywhites a way back into the Hillsborough clash but in the end it proved no more than a consolation.

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But from Moult’s point of view, it was a big moment in his relatively short time with the club.

Louis Moult scored his first goal for PNE at Sheffield WednesdayLouis Moult scored his first goal for PNE at Sheffield Wednesday
Louis Moult scored his first goal for PNE at Sheffield Wednesday

“I will take goals like that all day long,” said Moult as he looked back on events in South Yorkshire.

“When the ball hit the back of the net I was really delighted.

“In terms of the result it didn’t mean anything in the end but from a personal point of view it was brilliant to get off the mark.

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“Hopefully I can get more games and more goals, that is what I have been brought in to do.”

Louis MoultLouis Moult
Louis Moult

North End did a deal with Motherwell in December to sign Moult in a £450,000 deal.

That move officially went through when the transfer window opened at the start of January but a hamstring strain suffered while still a Motherwell player delayed for a few weeks his arrival on the pitch.

Five of his eight PNE games to date have come from the bench, it being as a sub that he found the net on Friday.

Moult said: “It has been a bit stop-start for me so far.

Louis Moult scored his first goal for PNE at Sheffield WednesdayLouis Moult scored his first goal for PNE at Sheffield Wednesday
Louis Moult scored his first goal for PNE at Sheffield Wednesday
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“I had the injury when I came and had to get fully fit which took a little while. I missed a game when I was ill and then recently we’ve had the international break.

“Now I’ve got the goal I want to go and score more.”

Moult was brought on at Hillsborough with North End 2-0 down.

They had bossed the play in the first half but weren’t able to turn all their possession into goals.

Louis MoultLouis Moult
Louis Moult

Wednesday caught them cold with two goals in two minutes at the start of the second half, Moult coming off the bench together with Daniel Johnson in the 70th minute as North End looked for a way back.

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It was Johnson who put in the cross which Moult turned home from six yards less than two minutes after coming on.

“I think it was my second touch which I scored with,” said Moult.

“The first touch was to lay the ball off and then I got into the box.

“To get on the end of a cross like that is something I always look to do.

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“That is my game, I like to get between the posts and score goals – my career has been based on that.

“The result and how the game panned out was a hard one to take.

“We dominated the game in the first half and looked dangerous when we went on the attack.

“A couple of really good chances came our way but we didn’t take them.

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“If we had scored in the first half, it would have been a different story.

“Every credit to Sheffield Wednesday though, they came out in the second half and shocked us a little bit with their two goals.

“They made a change to their system and that made a difference.

“It helped them score the two goals and it left us with a lot to do.

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“I thought we came back strongly and when we scored all the momentum was with us.

“After my goal I really thought we would score again and get something out of the game.

“Unfortunately they got their third goal which was a sucker punch and went on to score a fourth.

“It was tough to take, no way was it a 4-1 game in terms of the difference between the teams.

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“I suppose it underlines how strong a division the Championship is.

“It doesn’t matter where a team is in the league, they will give you a hard game.

“I have only been here since January and the big thing I have noticed is the quality and depth of the squads at every club.

“ For me, that is a massive step-up to what I have been used to.”

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Part two of North End’s Easter weekend comes on Monday dinnertime when they host Derby County at Deepdale (12.45pm).

The Sky cameras will be there for the clash between two sides with ambitions of making the play-offs.

PNE and the Rams are targeting the play-offs from differing directions.

While Alex Neil’s men are looking to push up out of the chasing pack, Derby have dropped out of the race for automatic promotion and could miss out on the top six all together is their recent form continues.

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Said Moult: “It is a good thing that we have a game to concentrate on after what happened on Friday.

“If you have a week until the next game, it can be a long week after a bad result.

“The Derby game is just around the corner and we will be ready for that.

“We will go into the game with a positive attitude like we do every week.

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“We’ve got a good honest squad who believe we can win every time we go on to the pitch.

“There are seven games to go and we need to go into those games thinking we can achieve something.

“We’re looking forward to Monday and it’s up to us now to show everyone what we’re capable of.

“If we do get a result on Monday, teams around us may get a little bit nervous.”