Everything Ryan Lowe said on beating Plymouth Argyle, Liam Millar and Alan Browne sub

Preston North End manager Ryan Lowe was delighted to see more grit from his team as they beat Plymouth Argyle 2-1 and returned to top of the Championship table.

Duane Holmes broke the deadlock after 37 seconds before debutant Liam Millar scored a fine solo goal to double PNE’s lead. North End were dealt a scare in the second half when Ryan Hardie pulled one back for the Pilgrims, but North End dug deep to see the three points over the line.

It is a fifth successive league win for Preston, who’ve dropped just two points from their six Championship games this season. Lowe met his old club for the first time since leaving them in December 2021 and he felt Plymouth provided Preston with a serious test on the day, but he was proud to see the Lilywhites stand up to it.

“The last 20 minutes weren’t enjoyable, but what I will say is that the lads put everything on the line to make sure they came away with three points,” said Lowe. “First half, we were well worthy of the two goals. We came out really fast, which we wanted to. Second half was always going to be tough and fair play to Plymouth, who changed a few things round and second half really had a good go. They had the impetus after getting one back, but our lads really put their bodies on the line, made passes, tackles and I thought the game was a fantastic, entertainining Championship game.

“We found a way to win but I thought we were excellent in the first half. It could’ve been 4-4 or 5-5 there were that many chances. It was two teams wanting to win a game of football and do the right things. I am just pleased we won it. We told the lads at half time that they would need to manage the game second half. When you’ve got that grit and determination to keep the ball out like we’ve got now, you can’t buy that. So yeah, our lads were fantastic.”

FC Basel loan man Millar was handed his full debut after signing on transfer deadline day, while fellow final day recruit Milutin Osmajic led the line for PNE - with Will Keane absent. Millar had a hand in both goals but it was his precise, 25th minute strike which lit up Deepdale. Lowe was happy with the contribution from both of his new attackers.

“Yeah, I was impressed with the two of them,” said Lowe. “We knew the type of players we were getting and that’s why we signed them. Milly will find it difficult for a few weeks with the language barrier, but he knows when we show him on the training pitch. He was unlucky today; he worked his socks off and the header at the back stick, anywhere else it goes in. We knew we had the big man with us and we’d worked with him for a couple of days. He is a machine isn’t he?

“When you get new players, that’s what you want them to do: perform, work their socks off and try to contribute. Liam Millar, we watched him in training this week and put him over on the left side. He was doing what he actually did: linked up with Milly, touch, goal. He dropped the shoulder, came inside and put it in the bottom corner. We knew he had that in him; bless him, he has got cramp all over his body so we’ll have to make sure he’s fine for Tuesday. But, the two of them were different class along with the other nine.”

Club captain Alan Browne was replaced at half-time by Mads Frokjaer. The Irishman’s withdrawal was addressed by Lowe post-match, who said it was a tactical decision given his workload over the international break.

“No, he’s fine, I just - he’d been to France and tried to mark (Kylian) Mbappe,” said Lowe. “The distance he covered... he then played against Holland and top midfielders and wingers. I just thought he looked a bit tired. He was tired when he came back. He only came back and trained on Thursday; Ali (McCann) was the same. I think I’ve done the right thing because I could’ve lost him. He is obviously disappointed coming off; he sat behind us in the dugout and rallied the lads on like a captain does. He just didn’t look right, so I had to take him off for fresh legs. It was important we did that.”