Preston North End player ratings vs Sheffield United with one 8/10 in thrilling win
Daniel Jebbison headed home the winning goal against his former club
Preston North End fought back from two-nil down to beat Sheffield United 3-2 at Deepdale on Friday night.
After a bright opening spell from the Lilywhites, the visitors out of nowhere pierced their way through PNE’s defence and hit the front. Tyrese Campbell turned in the North End half and fed the ball clean through to Andre Brooks, who made no mistake.
From that moment on, the Blades grew in confidence and their lead was doubled on 15 minutes. Callum O’Hare drove inside from the right, breezing past Preston bodies before burying his left-footed strike into the bottom right corner.
North End resembled a shell-shocked team and looked more vulnerable without the combative presence of Ali McCann. Deep into second half injury time, though, Lewis Dobbin pulled a goal back with a precise finish from 18 yards.
One back right before the break, and on level terms right after it. PNE lofted a free-kick into the Blades box almost immediately after the restart - Jordan Storey rose highest and saw the ball hit Japhet Tanganga, before looping into the back of the net.
Deepdale was alive and as the hour-mark approach, the roof was raised. Andrija Vukcevic delivered one of many quality crosses from the left and there was ex-Blade, Daniel Jebbison, to leap and bullet his header into the roof of the net.
Here are our player ratings from Deepdale.
Starting XI
Daniel Iversen: Not a great deal he could do about either Sheffield United goal. A quiet night in terms of shot-stopping. 6
Jordan Storey: A shaky first half. His header led to the equaliser. 6
Lewis Gibson: Forced off just before half-time. Not directly at fault for either goal but it had been a shake defensive start and Campbell had been a tough customer. 5
Andrew Hughes: Improved as the game wore on and put in a strong second half performance. 6.5
Odel Offiah: Caught out of position for the opening goal. Settled into the game gradually. One or two dicey moments. 6
Ben Whiteman: Loose for the second Blades goal. But stuck his chest out and was excellent in the second half - passing, tackling and organising. 7
Harrison Armstrong: Wasn’t able to tackle O’Hare for his goal. He put in a colossal second half shift though. 8
Andrija Vukcevic: Went off with a knock just after the hour. He assisted PNE’s third goal brilliantly and had delivered a handful of quality crosses. 7.5
Alfie Devine: Got into dangerous pockets of space throughout and looked to be positive. Saw some shots blocked. 7
Lewis Dobbin: Got PNE back into the game with a beauty just before the break. He grew into the game from there and was a livewire. 7.5
Daniel Jebbison: Worked tirelessly up top. Came out brighter in the second half and bulleted a magnificent header home to send PNE ahead. 8
Substitutes
Liam Lindsay: Came on at a difficult stage of the game but defended admirably. 7.5
Thierry Small: Made an impact off the bench with his surging runs and crosses. 6.5
Stefan Thordarson: Should’ve had an assist to his name when he picked out Smith. 6
Michael Smith: Won some key headers but missed a golden chance to kill the game. 5
Milutin Osmajic: Added some freshness at the top end of the pitch. 6