‘It was great’ - Out-on-loan Preston North End midfielder praised after first league start

Preston North End midfielder Lewis Leigh impressed manager Andy Woodman on his full debut for Bromley.

The 19-year-old is with the National League side until January 6th and was handed his first start for the club in Tuesday night’s clash at home to Eastleigh. Leigh played the second half of last weekend’s 1-1 draw at Solihull Moors and was then thrust into the starting lineup along with fellow new signing Kido Taylor-Hart - who is on loan from Arsenal.

Leigh made way in the 96th minute of the 1-0 win and came in for praise on social media from a handful of Bromley supporters. Woodman - who saw his side stretch their unbeaten run to ten games - was asked about the PNE man’s performance post-match. The father of Preston goalkeeper, Freddie, only had positive words to share.

"I thought they were both (Leigh and Taylor-Hart) excellent,” said Woodman. “I thought Lewis Leigh showed his qualities on the ball and we can liken him to a few midfielders we've had before on loan before. He has got those qualities. I like Lewis... I've got a lot of time for him and obviously Preston rate him really highly, so it was great for him to get on the pitch and show everyone what he's about.

“So, I'm excited about both of them. But it is about the whole group; everyone is pulling in the right direction and we’re getting the rewards at the minute, which is great. Six wins out of seven, we are still not in the top three which is quite amazing really. We’ve just got to keep churning out these results and taking care of our business, as a group of players and staff.”