PNE 0 EVERTON 3
Preston North End’s pre-season campaign came to an end with a 3-0 defeat at home to Everton.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s penalty sent the Toffees into the break with a lead, before good strikes from Jake O’Brien and Jesper Lindstrøm extended their advantage in the second half.
PNE’s best chances of the day fell to Brad Potts and Ryan Ledson, but they were denied in the final preparation fixture.
North End had the first half-chance of the day seven minutes in when Will Keane beat his brother, Michael in the air to head into the hands of Joao Virgínia, while Dai Cornell held on to a Vitalii Mykolenko effort at the other end.
PNE’s goalkeeper had a much greater task on 20 minutes to keep out Calvert-Lewin from the penalty spot, after the striker was brought down by Liam Lindsay, but Everton’s No.9 sent Cornell the wrong way and opened the scoring.
Potts almost had an instant response for North End as he was sent on his way down the right by Ledson, and the wing-back saw his low, driven effort across goal saved by Virgínia.
Everton’s ‘keeper then came up with an outstanding stop in the 29th minute to claw a Ledson header off the line, when it looked for anything that he was beaten.
A clever touch by Lindstrøm caught out PNE in the 42nd minute as he made his way into the area, only for Cornell to parry his effort away, and in the same attack Calvert-Lewin dragged a low shot wide.
After the break, it was North End creating all the early chances. Robbie Brady fired over in the opening stages and Sam Greenwood then called Virgínia into action 54 minutes in with a header.
Despite the pressure from Ryan Lowe’s side, it was the visitors who scored next just after the hour mark as new signing O’Brien sent a low, powerful effort beyond Cornell from 20 yards.
It was an even better strike which made it three as Lindstrøm dipped a free-kick over the wall and into the back of the net.
The last 20 minutes of the game didn’t see much in the way of chances as both sides made a number of changes, albeit Beto could have scored in the final minute of the game.
All eyes will now be on next Friday for North End, with the Lilywhites opening the Sky Bet Championship campaign at home to Sheffield United.
PNE line-up: Cornell; Whatmough, Lindsay (Storey, 71), Hughes; Potts (T.Mawene, 87), Whiteman (N.Mawene, 87), Ledson (Thórdarson, 71), Brady (Best, 81); Greenwood (Osmajić, 71), Frøkjær (Riis, 45); Keane (Holmes, 81). Subs: Pradic, Pasiek.
Referee: Mr A Backhouse.
Attendance: 12,337 (5,724 Everton fans).
A FANTASTIC VIEW
Ryan Lowe is hopeful Freddie Woodman will be available to feature in the opening game of the Sky Bet Championship season.
North End’s No.1 pulled out of the warm-up against Salford City due to illness, and he was again missing in the 3-0 defeat to Everton on Saturday.
That was only a precautionary measure from the manager, though, with the ‘keeper having struggled in training during the week.
Asked if the fans should be worried, Ryan said: “Hopefully not too concerned. As you know, I’m ‘Mr Precaution’ so I didn’t want to risk anything.
“We’ll keep assessing Fred over the next few days. He wasn’t well the other day and then in training he felt a bit of muscle tightness so we’ll make sure we give Fred the best possible chance for the opening game of the season.
“We’ll limit his training and we’ve limited his gametime as you’ve seen with not playing him. Hopefully it’s not too concerning and hopefully we can have him available for Sheffield United.”
Dai Cornell stepped in to face the Toffees and made some good saves early in the match, before Dominic Calvert-Lewin opened the scoring from the penalty spot.
Second-half goals from Jake O’Brien and Jesper Lindstrøm extended the visitors’ advantage in what was North End’s final fixture in preparation for the 2024/25 Sky Bet Championship season.
Ryan said: “I thought we were excellent in large parts of the game. Especially in the first half I thought we moved the ball very well. Everton’s staff were very complimentary.
“The goals were sloppy which we know we can avoid. Linds [Liam Lindsay] doesn’t need to dive in for the penalty. The second one is a second phase that’s gone in which we’re disappointed about. It’s dropped down and the kid’s hit a real good shot.
“The third is a fantastic finish. We maybe could have lined the wall up a little bit better but I thought the lads were excellent. I’m just pleased we’ve got through it; it was a fantastic outing for the boys. I thought it was a good game.”
All eyes will now be on next Friday for the gaffer and North End, with a home clash against Sheffield United kicking the new season off.
Ryan said: “The lads have been excellent. Every single person around Euxton, we’ve all rallied together and done the work we needed to do with the players.
“The players have done all the work we’ve asked them to do. The minutes they’ve all had now in the games has tallied up to where we want them to be. We’ll have a recovery day tomorrow and we’ll have a four day build-up to Sheffield United.
“There’ll be a lot of tactical work and information so we’ll make sure it’s day by day and not all at once. We’ll work on some stuff with Sheffield United. I watched them last night live at Huddersfield and they’ve got some players to come back as well and they’ll maybe sign some players.
“Hopefully Monday morning when we have a headcount they’re all available to train and then we’ll have a good week hopefully building up to Sheffield United.”
Preston North End’s pre-season campaign came to an end with a 3-0 defeat at home to Everton.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s penalty sent the Toffees into the break with a lead, before good strikes from Jake O’Brien and Jesper Lindstrøm extended their advantage in the second half.
PNE’s best chances of the day fell to Brad Potts and Ryan Ledson, but they were denied in the final preparation fixture.
North End had the first half-chance of the day seven minutes in when Will Keane beat his brother, Michael in the air to head into the hands of Joao Virgínia, while Dai Cornell held on to a Vitalii Mykolenko effort at the other end.
PNE’s goalkeeper had a much greater task on 20 minutes to keep out Calvert-Lewin from the penalty spot, after the striker was brought down by Liam Lindsay, but Everton’s No.9 sent Cornell the wrong way and opened the scoring.
Potts almost had an instant response for North End as he was sent on his way down the right by Ledson, and the wing-back saw his low, driven effort across goal saved by Virgínia.
Everton’s ‘keeper then came up with an outstanding stop in the 29th minute to claw a Ledson header off the line, when it looked for anything that he was beaten.
A clever touch by Lindstrøm caught out PNE in the 42nd minute as he made his way into the area, only for Cornell to parry his effort away, and in the same attack Calvert-Lewin dragged a low shot wide.
After the break, it was North End creating all the early chances. Robbie Brady fired over in the opening stages and Sam Greenwood then called Virgínia into action 54 minutes in with a header.
Despite the pressure from Ryan Lowe’s side, it was the visitors who scored next just after the hour mark as new signing O’Brien sent a low, powerful effort beyond Cornell from 20 yards.
It was an even better strike which made it three as Lindstrøm dipped a free-kick over the wall and into the back of the net.
The last 20 minutes of the game didn’t see much in the way of chances as both sides made a number of changes, albeit Beto could have scored in the final minute of the game.
All eyes will now be on next Friday for North End, with the Lilywhites opening the Sky Bet Championship campaign at home to Sheffield United.
PNE line-up: Cornell; Whatmough, Lindsay (Storey, 71), Hughes; Potts (T.Mawene, 87), Whiteman (N.Mawene, 87), Ledson (Thórdarson, 71), Brady (Best, 81); Greenwood (Osmajić, 71), Frøkjær (Riis, 45); Keane (Holmes, 81). Subs: Pradic, Pasiek.
Referee: Mr A Backhouse.
Attendance: 12,337 (5,724 Everton fans).
A FANTASTIC VIEW
Ryan Lowe is hopeful Freddie Woodman will be available to feature in the opening game of the Sky Bet Championship season.
North End’s No.1 pulled out of the warm-up against Salford City due to illness, and he was again missing in the 3-0 defeat to Everton on Saturday.
That was only a precautionary measure from the manager, though, with the ‘keeper having struggled in training during the week.
Asked if the fans should be worried, Ryan said: “Hopefully not too concerned. As you know, I’m ‘Mr Precaution’ so I didn’t want to risk anything.
“We’ll keep assessing Fred over the next few days. He wasn’t well the other day and then in training he felt a bit of muscle tightness so we’ll make sure we give Fred the best possible chance for the opening game of the season.
“We’ll limit his training and we’ve limited his gametime as you’ve seen with not playing him. Hopefully it’s not too concerning and hopefully we can have him available for Sheffield United.”
Dai Cornell stepped in to face the Toffees and made some good saves early in the match, before Dominic Calvert-Lewin opened the scoring from the penalty spot.
Second-half goals from Jake O’Brien and Jesper Lindstrøm extended the visitors’ advantage in what was North End’s final fixture in preparation for the 2024/25 Sky Bet Championship season.
Ryan said: “I thought we were excellent in large parts of the game. Especially in the first half I thought we moved the ball very well. Everton’s staff were very complimentary.
“The goals were sloppy which we know we can avoid. Linds [Liam Lindsay] doesn’t need to dive in for the penalty. The second one is a second phase that’s gone in which we’re disappointed about. It’s dropped down and the kid’s hit a real good shot.
“The third is a fantastic finish. We maybe could have lined the wall up a little bit better but I thought the lads were excellent. I’m just pleased we’ve got through it; it was a fantastic outing for the boys. I thought it was a good game.”
All eyes will now be on next Friday for the gaffer and North End, with a home clash against Sheffield United kicking the new season off.
Ryan said: “The lads have been excellent. Every single person around Euxton, we’ve all rallied together and done the work we needed to do with the players.
“The players have done all the work we’ve asked them to do. The minutes they’ve all had now in the games has tallied up to where we want them to be. We’ll have a recovery day tomorrow and we’ll have a four day build-up to Sheffield United.
“There’ll be a lot of tactical work and information so we’ll make sure it’s day by day and not all at once. We’ll work on some stuff with Sheffield United. I watched them last night live at Huddersfield and they’ve got some players to come back as well and they’ll maybe sign some players.
“Hopefully Monday morning when we have a headcount they’re all available to train and then we’ll have a good week hopefully building up to Sheffield United.”
Why should a man go to work, if he has the health and strength to stay in bed?