[themaclad]

Attendance: 18,381 (4,430 Ipswich Town fans).

Referee: Matthew Donohue.

Seven points from the first three games, not bad at all given the mauling the Hoops got yesterday , possibly consider that two points dropped.
Different type of win yesterday, had to do a lot of work without the ball, at the back we were supurb, can only remember a couple of shots Iversen had too save, one from Clarke in the first half and a late effort from Taylor, we were also bailed out by two great tackles by Storey and Small.
Took the lead with an early penalty foul by Greaves on Osmajic, given it was Matt Donohue, it probably was the correct decision given Matt's record against us, Os sent Palmer the wrong way, from that moment our attacking intent largely disappeared, cannot attack without the ball.
For a period of about 15 minutes in the first half it looked odds on that they would score, but we kept them out, they didn't seem as dangerous in the second period, as we started to run out of a bit of energy but we kept them out.
Good win by a side who now seem to have a great work ethic and team spirit, amazing what bringing in fresh blood can do.
Off the field the queues for Spud Brothers were massive, never has a potato been so popular

Hollywood in the cup next followed by a trip to Portsmouth, can't wait.

HECK

Paul Heckingbottom hopes the fans are proud of the team for a “really strong” performance in the victory over Ipswich Town.

A week on from the win over Leicester City, North End came out on top against another side recently relegated from the top flight, with Milutin Osmajić’s first-half penalty sealing the three points against the Tractor Boys.

After going ahead early, the visitors pushed to get back level, but PNE put in an excellent, energetic display to restrict Kieran McKenna’s side to very little.

Hecky said: “The fans should be proud of this group of players. I think you’ve heard me talking about people moaning about budgets and other teams spending and why aren't we spending? Forget that. We would have lost the game if that was important.

“What's important is our group, how we play and we're going to be second best some days and come unstuck. The fans can't be prouder of the players today. They see what it means to win, they see how much they're willing to give for the shirt.

“I think as a fan, as a coach, anyone connected with Preston needs to be really proud of the players.”

The manager’s been talking recently about the mentality of his side and the kind of culture he’s looked to create, which has really shown in the two home matches in particular.


They’ve taken on two sides tipped to be at the very top of the division come the end of the season but put in two strong displays which have resulted in maximum points.

Asked for his thoughts on the performance against Ipswich, Hecky said: “Really strong against a very good side. We were under no illusions of what type of team we were playing against today. They’ve got very good individuals, you can see that with the bench and also with the players who didn't get on.

“But they're a very good team without the ball as well, which you could see today. They're going to be up there without a doubt.

“I’m delighted. We started the game really, really well, and went in front deservedly. It sort of sets the pattern for the game where then they take more risk, commit more bodies, and we have to defend well.

“I thought we started the second half brilliantly as well, but then the pattern of the game set again and the only moment I was uncomfortable with was sort of the 15 minutes before we brought the subs on where I felt we needed energy and we'd ran out of legs a little bit and they were getting on top.

“The subs came on then and we still had to defend, don’t get me wrong, but I felt we had the energy and the freshness then to see the game out.”

The manager has talked this summer about his side needing some time to gel given the addition of 11 new players, yet on early showings they seem to be working well together.

“I think they’ve bought in,” Hecky said. “We were really clear in the type of personality and character we wanted to bring in. I think that's been evident in the performances. But it's just about winning.

“I said last season, so many of our performances merited a hell of a lot more. We've got over the line because we've got the character, personality in the group and we've had those big moments. Like I said, we don't win that game if we don't start the game as aggressively as we did and get on top. I'm really, really pleased with them. Really, really proud of them.”

KM

Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna speaking to BBC Radio Suffolk: "Really frustrated and annoyed by the result. Our supporters have travelled a long way; we wanted to get the win after a couple of hard-fought draws and we didn't do it, so that is the overriding emotion.

"We gave away a goal which we can't concede at this level. We won't be successful if we concede goals like that. That is clear, the type of performance we are going to face we needed to be stronger in the few occasions we had to defend.

"Before and after we had control of the game, there was some nice passages to our play, but we didn't create as many chances as we would like.

"The connections in the team aren't strong enough. I knew it would be a difficult summer - we need to improve and quickly."

Finally have to mention the referee, our Matt, first half did OK, then went card happy in the second period, hardly a bad tackle in teh game 7 bookings of which 6 were for us, mind you having seen the decisions at the Hawthorns, can't really complain