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Lost to Blackburn in penalties after a 2 all draw in the Lancs cup

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Rotherham United U18 3 PNE U18 1


The youth team bowed out of the Youth Alliance cup at the northern semi-final stage with a 3-1 defeat to Rotherham United at Roundwood Sports Complex.

The hosts led via a penalty at the break and although Louis Potts looked to have set up an intriguing finish with his equaliser just before the hour mark, two strikes in the following ten minutes saw the Millers out of sight, setting up a northern final tie against Fleetwood Town.

It was Fleetwood who ended the young Lilywhites’ 12-match unbeaten run last weekend, with Nick Harrison making just one change from that game as Aaron Bennett come into the side at left midfield, replacing Tyler Williams and leading to a defensive reshuffle which saw Lincoln McFayden move inside to centre back and Lewis Coulton drop back to left back.

Bennett saw an effort hit the crossbar in that first half, while Jacob Holland-Wilkinson shot against the post and the hosts had a goal ruled out for offside at the other end.


It was Rotherham who led at the break, however, through an 18th-minute spot kick. Jimmy Corcoran conceded the penalty after the Lilywhites had lost possession in their own half down their left flank, the PNE goalkeeper colliding with the attacker looking to meet a ball across the face of goal at the back post.

And the penalty was dispatched into the bottom right corner to give Rotherham the edge at half-time.

North End pulled one back within a quarter of an hour of the restart as Potts found the net for the third time in his last two matches.

Tyrhys Dolan’s made inroads down the left with his quick footwork and as he broke into the box and laid it across the face, Brian McManus stuck out a leg to divert it to Potts at the back post, who got the final touch to prod over the line.

It seemed very much game on at that point, but Rotherham were back in front just three minutes later. A shot taken early from just outside the box, right of centre, forced Corcoran to parry and a Millers man pounced to convert the rebound home.

And just moments later in the 68th minute, the Millers had the game sewn up as another attack down their right saw a low strike across goal find the bottom corner.

The young Lilywhites return to action next weekend, hosting Shrewsbury Town in the North West Youth Alliance league, with an 11am kick-off at UCLan Sports Arena.

PNE line-up: Corcoran; Huddart (Williams, 85), Earl, McFayden, Coulton; Nolan, McManus; Holland-Wilkinson (Dooley, 66), Dolan, Bennett; Potts (Rodwell-Grant, 63). Subs not used: Nicholson, Lombard.

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Jack Armer in Scotland Under 19 squad

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PNE U18 0 Shrewsbury Town U18 1


PNE U18 slipped to their third straight defeat in all competitions with a 1-0 loss to Shrewsbury Town in the North West Youth Alliance league.

A solitary goal just before half-time from Fasiu Sangare was enough to give the visitors all three points in a cagey affair at UCLan Sports Arena.

Academy manager Nick Harrison made three defensive changes to the side that lost to Rotherham United in the Youth Alliance Cup a week prior.



Ben Dooley and Joe Blanchard replaced Harry Huddart and Lewis Coulton at right back and left back respectively, while Tyler Williams came in for Lewis Earl at centre back.

PNE edged the first 20 minutes of the game but neither team had a clear-cut chance at goal.

Aaron Bennett provided the home side with their first real opportunity, powering a shot from 20 yards out just past the top right corner of the Shrewsbury goal.

Minutes later, Williams came within inches of giving the young Lilywhites the lead when his low shot was cleared off the line by Shrewsbury right back Zac Hartley.

At the other end, Shrewsbury had a free-kick wide on the left, but the delivery only found the hands of Jimmy Corcoran in the PNE net.

Corcoran was busy again seven minutes before half-time as he made an important save, denying Sangare whose shot from the edge of the box had taken a deflection on the way through to the ‘keeper.

The Shrewsbury forward continued to be a handful, firing a shot over the bar shortly after.

It was then third time lucky for Sangare when he burst towards goal and placed the ball low to Corcoran’s left to give the visitors the lead in the 44th minute.

PNE started the second half brightly with both Bennett and Tyrhys Dolan having shots deflected wide.

Chances for the visitors were limited as they protected their lead, but a rare foray down the left wing by Nigel Aris kept the PNE defenders on their toes, with Williams intercepting his low cross well.

Bennett continued to be busy at the other end, smartly cutting outside Hartley but sending his left-footed strike wide of the post.

The hosts came very close to levelling the game in the 81st minute after some great work from Brian McManus. The midfielder made a well-timed tackle before his floating ball into the box struck the top of the crossbar, but no one in white was able to turn home the rebound.

Substitute Joe Rodwell-Grant had a big chance in the last minute of normal time as he weaved his way in and out of defenders in the box, but the striker’s low shot was met well by Shrewsbury goalkeeper Luke Burton.

There was still time for some stoppage time drama as another substitute, this time Huddart, sent a ball into the box, causing all sorts of confusion amongst the opposition’s defence. As Dooley attempted to put it back in it was blocked, with big cries of handball from the home side, but the claims were waved away by the referee.

The final whistle brought the third straight defeat, following on from the losses to Rotherham in the cup and before that Fleetwood in the league.

Manager Harrison was frustrated to come away with nothing despite having the lion’s share of the game.

He said: “It’s one of those games again that we dominated. You look at the stats and we’ve created six clear cut chances to their none – even their goal wasn’t a clear-cut chance.

“We created good chances but didn’t have that cutting edge and maybe that desire and endeavour to put the ball in the back of the net.”

Despite his frustration, he recognised the importance of the lesson which his players will have taken from the game.

“Six clear cut chances to zero should mean you win the game, but I think it’s a good lesson, certainly for our lads at the back, that if you don’t deal with the striker like we failed to do just before half-time, then you concede and that’s why you end up losing games,” he said.

“At the same time we had enough chances to go and win the game comfortably. We had to get hold of the game and make something happen.”

Harrison also spoke of the learning curve that the recent run of form will provide for the young Lilywhites.

“If they do have a long career in the game they’re going to go through these periods. We’ve just said to them that they’ve got to find a way to come out of this.

“We’ll be there to support them and we’re encouraging them to play and to battle to be positive. I’m sure the results will knock their confidence a bit but that is part and parcel of learning the game of football. It’s what they do next now that’s important.”

PNE line-up: Corcoran; Dooley, Williams, McFayden, Blanchard; Nolan, McManus; Dolan, Holland-Wilkinson (Rodwell-Grant, 83), Bennett (Seary, 70); Potts (Huddart, 87). Subs not used: Nicholson, Lombard.

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Imagine my surprise training ground not going ahead

Training Facilities


In the summer of 2017, Preston North End sought to gain planning approval for ‘state of the art’ training facilities in our continued quest to bring Premier League football to the city of Preston.

Our planning submission was on a two-part basis, one for the training ground and the second for housing approval on adjacent land at Ingol, Preston.

In all of our pre planning discussions it was made clear that the financing of the training ground could only be based on the delivery of the profit from the whole of the housing development. This remains the case.


Some three years later we have still not received any substantive return from the housing planning and due to the detail of the consent we are unlikely to do so for a number of years.

Our strategic objective for the site at Ingol is unchanged, however, the short term need to give our players the right facilities has led us to consider an interim solution that is cost effective, provides our players with enhanced facilities from those currently provided and can in the future be passed on to our senior Academy team who are currently located at UCLAN. Even following this move the U8s to U16s teams will continue to benefit from the UCLAN facilities.

Following on from the above, we will have submitted a planning application to enhance our existing first team training facilities at Springfields. This solution is an affordable bridging solution in advance of maximising the return on the housing development at Ingol and has the added benefit of upgrading our U18 academy facilities as and when our first team relocate.

The purpose of the press release is to keep our supporters updated and to allow those who worked so hard to support us in the original application at Ingol to have a context and understanding of this new application.

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Lost 4-2 to Blackburn in YC had a player sent off win leading 2-1

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PNE U18 4 Oldham Athletic U18 0

It was a game of two halves as North End saw off Oldham Athletic with a second half rout to earn a 4-0 win.

After an evenly contested first half which saw the sides go in goalless at the break, PNE stole the show in the second half with goals from Tyrhys Dolan, Louis Potts and Harry Huddart, before Lewis Leigh wrapped things up for the Lilywhites ten minutes from time.

There were five changes to the PNE side that were harshly beaten by Blackburn Rovers in the FA Youth Cup fifth round tie at Ewood Park four days prior.

First year scholars Oliver Lombard, Kyi Nicholson and Jacob Holland-Wilkinson came into the side alongside schoolboys Josh Seary and Joe Blanchard, replacing Jimmy Corcoran, Ben Dooley, Lewis Coulton, Tyler Williams and Ethan Walker in the starting line-up.

The game had initially looked in doubt after a night of heavy rainfall and strong winds, which resulted in an early morning pitch inspection, before the officials agreed it was playable.

It was clear that strong winds and difficult weather conditions were playing a factor early on; both teams struggled to keep the ball or create any clear-cut opportunities.

The first goalscoring chance fell for PNE after 38 minutes as Brian McManus had his long-range effort tipped onto the bar, along with a rebounded effort smartly saved by the visiting goalkeeper, ensuring the sides went in level at the break.

Oldham started the brighter of the two sides, as they went closest to breaking the deadlock in the 50th minute, the resulting effort just flashed wide.

It was PNE who opened the scoring three minutes later, after Dolan placed a right-footed strike into the far-left corner from 25 yards, leaving the keeper helpless.

Dolan’s first started what was to be an eventual scoring spree for PNE, as Potts added a second after he climbed the highest to steer in a towering header and double the Lilywhites’ lead on 62 minutes.

It wasn’t all plain sailing for the home side as Oldham forced Lombard into making two crucial saves within the space of three minutes to keep his clean sheet intact and prevent any late revival from the visitors.

Oldham enjoyed their best spell of the match, as they looked for a way back into the game. Despite the Latics’ high press, PNE soaked up the pressure and began to look dangerous on the counter attack.

The Lilywhites regained control of the game and possession, playing nice one-touch football resulting in a succession of corners and free-kicks in dangerous areas, as the home side pressed for another goal to ensure a crucial three points.

And PNE did add a third on 76 minutes, making sure any hopes of an Oldham comeback were all but over. Harry Huddart was the man on the scoresheet after he drilled a delightful low placed shot into the bottom corner moments after coming on as a second half substitute.

It was to be another substitute to wrap things up for North End as Lewis Leigh made it four, after his curling effort rippled the back of the net from inside the 18-yard box.

A five-star display was almost topped off by a fifth goal, as McManus saw his long-range attempt just sail wide of the post.

It was a very convincing second half display from PNE, that the difference as they ran out 4-0 winners.

Speaking after the game, Academy manager Nick Harrison was full of praise for his players after their FA Youth Cup exit.

“We just said to the players at full-time today that Tuesday was a disappointment, it always is to lose games, but today was a great response and I am really pleased with the way we performed,” he said.

“We passed the ball well, but we also battled for it, we did the ugly side really well and because we did the ugly side really well, I think that’s how we created our chances and scored our goals.

“Having had a couple of chances in the first half, we maybe took a little bit too long on the ball, whereas second half we were clinical, we created a number of chances in the second half and we took them.”

After two of his second half substitutions both got on the score sheet, Nick said he was pleased with the squad he has.

“We have got good players; these are young players that have come off the bench, but I think that’s the nature of academy football.

“We have done what we have always done and that’s promoted younger players and tried to give them a pathway.”

Nick also gave a special mention to under-15 right back Seary for his “outstanding performance” as he played the full 90 minutes, helping PNE to seal an impressive three points in the North West Youth Alliance league.

PNE line-up: Lombard; Seary, Earl, Blanchard, McFayden; Nolan (Leigh, 77), McManus; Nicholson, Dolan (O’Neil, 80), Holland-Wilkinson (Bennett, 55); Potts (Huddart, 63). Subs not used: Corcoran.

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Youth Team Duo Join Clitheroe On Work Experience


Second year scholars Lincoln McFayden and Tyrhys Dolan have joined Clitheroe FC on work experience for the remainder of the season.

Both players head to Shawbridge for vital experience of first team football and they will join up with former Academy teammate Jack Baxter who joined Clitheroe on loan in January.

Clitheroe currently sit ninth in the BetVictor NPL North West Division and their next game sees a trip to Workington on Saturday.


Lincoln and Tyrhys will still be available to play youth team football for PNE in agreement of both parties.

Everyone at PNE would like to wish both youngsters the best of luck during their time at Clitheroe FC.

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Shrewsbury Town U18 0 PNE U18 2


The youth team avenged for their home defeat to Shrewsbury Town last month by defeating the Shropshire side at Shrewsbury Sports Village with a 2-0 win on Saturday morning.

Goals from Kyi Nicholson – his first for North End’s U18 side – and Louis Potts before the midpoint of the first half were enough to win the day for Nick Harrison’s outfit.

Having had a break in their schedule last weekend, Harrison, the Academy manager, made two changes from the side that beat Oldham Athletic in the last game, two weeks ago.


Lincoln McFayden and Tyrhys Dolan, both of whom have since joined Clitheroe FC on a work experience loan, were replaced in the starting line-up by Lewis Coulton and Aaron Bennett.

The young Lilywhites made a bright start to the contest and were ahead after 18 minutes.

It was Nicholson who opened the scoring, with an element of fortune about the goal, as U15 full back Josh Seary’s low ball forward was diverted back towards the goalkeeper with Nicholson lurking.

It was a loose touch and that presented the chance to Nicholson, but he showed a cool head from there, rounding the opposition goalkeeper and placing the ball into an empty net.

Three minutes later and the away side doubled their lead. Goalkeeper Oliver Lombard’s kick forwards caused his opposite number in the Shrewsbury goal serious trouble as the ball bounced in front of him awkwardly.

Potts sensed the danger and challenged the ‘keeper for the ball in the air and winning it as it came back down, allowing him to poke the ball into the top corner, on the bounce, from just inside the Shrewsbury area.

Those efforts were enough to seal the points for North End, with goalkeeper Oliver Lombard managing to keep a second clean sheet in a row.

Kian Taylor, Finlay Cross-Adair and Noah Mawene – son of former North End defender Youl – all U15s, were afforded their first youth team appearances off the bench in the final ten minutes of the contest.

The young charges will be back at UCLan Sports Arena next weekend for the visit of Carlisle United in an 11am kick-off.

PNE line-up: Lombard; Seary, Earl, Blanchard, Coulton; Nolan, McManus; Nicholson (Taylor, 82), Bennett (Mawene, 88), Holland-Wilkinson (Cross-Adair, 86); Potts (Huddart, 65). Subs not used: Pedley.

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Planning to return to training 16 May for possibly start early June