Ex-Burnley man leads the delighted Preston North End dressing room reaction to 'dominant' FA Cup win
PNE beat Burnley 3-0 on Saturday to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals
Preston North End man Robbie Brady described Saturday’s 3-0 win over Burnley as ‘dominant’.
The Lilywhites are into the final eight of the FA Cup for the first time in 59 years. It was Brady who broke the deadlock with a magnificent free-kick on 31 minutes, before Milutin Osmajic added a second for PNE one minute before half-time.
Fellow striker Will Keane then clinched the tie with a close range finish as the second half entered the closing stages. Brady, who has endured recent injury frustration, was delighted to play a pivotal role on the day and get the job done at Deepdale.
“It was brilliant,” said Brady. “Big game... we know how long it's been for the club since the last time they reached the quarter-final. I think we put on a great performance, dominated throughout most of the game and came away with a great win.
“Just a good team performance... a good cup performance. We knew it was going to be tough. It was going to be a battle. I think we stood up to that. I think within the first ten seconds of the second half, we put a ball forward, got in behind and showed what we were looking to do.
“It felt excellent (inside the stadium). From the start, when it's bouncing like that and you can hear the noise, it gets everyone right up for the game. The fans, team, all putting a shift today and it was great. We'll see who we get and we'll deal with it from there.
“You get one of the big teams away; it's a fantastic day for the club and for the lads to get out and play. You get a team at home; we'll take anything we get. Obviously, a home draw would be better to try and get ourselves to Wembley.”
“I’m not going to say I didn’t enjoy it.”
Brady has not escaped jibes from the Turf Moor faithful while playing against them for PNE. Despite that - and as enjoyable as it was to see his free-kick hit the back of the net - the Irishman held back with his celebration and didn’t regret doing so.
“It was a nice feeling,” said Brady. You know when you hit it well and you've just got a chance. Lucky enough, it went in. But yeah, delighted to help the team. I knew distance and where it was from the goal.
“I thought, if I hit it well, it's got a chance and I managed to do so. It felt great inside. But like I said, I was at Burnley for a long time and really enjoyed my time there. So, just a little bit of respect. But I'm not going to say I didn't enjoy it. I enjoyed it.”