[themaclad]

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[themaclad]

Match Report: Preston North End 0-1 Bolton Wanderers
@pnefc

PNE suffered their first defeat of pre-season as Bolton Wanderers came out on top at a packed out County Ground.

Gethin Jones opened the scoring for the Trotters 51 minutes in and that proved to be the only goal of the game.

1,100 North End supporters were in attendance in Leyland as they got the first chance to watch their team play since March 2020, and in glorious weather conditions too.



Frankie McAvoy included Jack Baxter and goalkeeper Connor Ripley for the first time in pre-season, while Patrick Bauer took the captain’s armband.

North End can perhaps feel hard done by that they weren’t awarded a penalty inside five minutes, as Sean Maguire kickstarted an attack with a lovely flick, which ended with Scott Sinclair, who went down under pressure from Ricardo Santos, but referee Jeremy Simpson waved away the appeals.

Bolton almost opened the scoring moments later with a free-kick from 20 yards, but Ripley did well to tip Xavier Amaechi’s effort round the post.

On the half hour mark, Sinclair was again asking questions of the referee, this time being sandwiched between two Bolton players inside the area, but again Simpson didn’t give him the decision.

The Trotters had an array of chances in the five minutes before the break, firstly through Josh Sheehan who tested Ripley. His save fell kindly for Sarcevic, however he blazed his effort over the crossbar.

After Jones then fired a shot across the face of goal, Ripley was required again to produce a stunning double stop, firstly to keep out Sheehan once more before springing back to his feet to dive in front of Sarcevic’s shot from just more than six yards.

North End came close themselves through Ethan Walker, a 39th-minute substitute, as he cut inside onto his right foot to curl an effort towards the far corner, but it landed just wide and the sides went into half-time goalless.

Mathew Hudson replaced Ripley at the break and before he knew it he was having to pick the ball up out of his goal, with Gethin Jones firing an effort home from the edge of the area to break the deadlock.

Hudson made a fantastic save to deny Bolton a second, as his fingertips prevented Oladapo Afolayan’s curling shot from reaching the top corner.

The game became heated around the 60-minute mark, as three players went into the book, with 17-year-old Lewis Leigh being shown a yellow card for a strong challenge on Bolton’s Jones, who was also shown a yellow card for his reaction, before Afolayan received the same punishment for dissent.

Sean Maguire tried his luck down the other end on 66 minutes, seeing his effort comfortably saved by Joel Dixon, and that was his last action as Frankie McAvoy rung the changes, swapping all of the outfield players.

Two of the men to come on, Emil Riis and Ched Evans, almost combined for an equaliser, with the Danish forward showing good feet to turn his man and cross for his strike partner, but Evans couldn’t quite get the connection he wanted.

That was about that for PNE in the final stages, though, as they fell to a first defeat of pre-season.

Starting XI: Ripley (Hudson, 46), van den Berg, Earl, Bauer, Bayliss, Rafferty, Maguire, Baxter (Walker, 39), Sinclair, Leigh, Potts.

Full-time XI: Hudson, Storey, Lindsay, Hughes, Cunningham, Whiteman, Ledson, Mawene, Barkhuizen, Evans, Riis.

[themaclad]

Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete history playing at the Crown Ground. The club came to national prominence in 1989 due to the Milk Marketing Board's popular television advert that featured the slogan Accrington Stanley, Who Are They?.

The current club was formed in 1968, two years after the collapse of the original Accrington Stanley, which played in the Football League from 1921 to 1962 after initially competing in the Lancashire Combination. The town's original club, named simply Accrington, were founder members of the Football League in 1888, though folded just six years later. The current incarnation of the club entered the Lancashire Combination and moved on to the Cheshire County League after winning the Combination title in 1977–78. Stanley won Division Two of the Cheshire County League in 1980–81 and became founder members of the North West Counties League in 1982, before being placed in Division One of the Northern Premier League five years later. They were promoted to the Premier Division in 1990–91, though were relegated in 1999.

The early 21st century saw the club win three promotions over the course of seven seasons under the stewardship of John Coleman to gain a place in the Football League. They won three divisional titles in each of their three promotions: Northern Premier League Division One (1999–2000), Northern Premier League Premier Division (2002–03) and the Conference National (2005–06). They then spent 12 seasons mostly in the bottom half of the table in League Two, though did also lose two play-off semi-finals, before Coleman led them to promotion into League One as League Two champions in 2017–18.

The Crown Ground is a multi-use stadium in Accrington, Lancashire, England. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Accrington Stanley. Opened in 1968, the stadium has a capacity of 5,450.

The ground is currently known as the Wham Stadium as part of a three-year £200,000 sponsorship deal with What More UK Ltd.[2] It was previously also named the Fraser Eagle Stadium and the Interlink Express Stadium.


Stands/terraces
Jack Barret Memorial Stand: this stand is the newest stand. A terrace used to be in its place until it was knocked down and replaced by the current one whilst Stanley were still in the Northern Premier League. It runs half the length of the pitch. The dugouts are situated here and in the John Smiths Stand.
Clayton End: officially called the Sophia Khan Stand. This the home end. The more vocal Stanley fans known as the Stanley Ultras like to stand here. It is a covered terrace that had a roof added to it at the start of 2007–08. Seats were added to the front half of the terrace to bring the stadium up to Football League standards.
Whinney Hill Terrace: otherwise known as the Cowshed. It stands on the lower slopes of Whinney Hill which is home to a vast waste infill site. It was a small terrace with only 3 rows but had seating installed in the covered section to bring the stadium up to Football League standards. It has a roof running two thirds of the length of the pitch held up by pillars. The terrace continues around the corner for about a third of the Coppice End and around the corner at the other end to join with the Clayton End. The television gantry is situated in the middle of the terrace. The half nearest the Coppice End is given to away fans. This stand is currently closed and is being replaced by the 1,100 seater Eric Whalley Stand, which is due to open in late 2018/early 2019.
Coppice End: This is the away end and has the ability to accommodate up 1,800 supporters. If additional demand is required then part of the Whinney Hill side is used for this allocation. Conversely, if away demand is small this stand can go unused. This end is uncovered and is very exposed to the weather.
Record attendance
A record attendance of 4,801 set on 17 November 2018 for a League One match against Barnsley, but only stood for three weeks, when it was bettered by a crowd of 5,257 for another league match against Sunderland on 8 December 2018, although the match was abandoned due to a waterlogged pitch.[3] A new record of 5,397 was set on 26 January 2019 when Derby County visited in the FA Cup fourth round.



Stanley's old ground parents old stomping ground

MACS VIEW

Small compact and homely sums Stanley perfectly a club that for years has battled well against adversity, to be were they are is outstanding, they are a very well run club and a manager who fits the club well.
Been on there many times took in a Stanley v Shrewsbury game the start of one season when they both in the Conference, about 20 minutes before the kick off Coley went and bought himself, pie, pes and chips a down to earth bloke.
The last competitive game between the sides was a league cup tie which we lost 3-2 memorable only for Liam Grimshaw's mazy run which saw him carry the ball out of pitch and continue running with the ball until he almost fell over the perimeter road. Happy days

[themaclad]

PNE have their fifth friendly of pre-season on its way this weekend with a trip to the Wham Stadium to face Accrington Stanley.

Frankie McAvoy’s side enter the tie after Tuesday night’s defeat to Bolton Wanderers and will be looking to get back to winning ways on Saturday.

For Accrington, this will be the first time they have welcomed their supporters back into the Wham Stadium since March 2020.

Stanley enter the game on the back of a victory against Lancashire rivals Blackpool, with goals from Dion Charles, Harry Pell and Joel Mumbongo sealing a 3-1 win.

A former Accy shot-stopper in Connor Ripley could be the man trying to keep out the home side on Saturday, while forward Sean Maguire also spent time with Stanley earlier in his career, back in the 2014/15 campaign.

Ripley was one of three North End players on Tuesday evening to get their first taste of action in pre-season, alongside Jack Baxter and Ethan Walker, and they’ll be hoping to get more minutes into their legs this weekend.

Club View

[themaclad]

Match Report: Accrington Stanley 1 PNE 1

PNE were made to settle for a draw against Accrington Stanley, with the opener from a Lilywhites trialist being cancelled out by Joe Pritchard.

North End’s opener came from the right-hand side where Tom Barkhuizen found the trialist inside the area, and he headed in from close range to break the deadlock in the second half.

The game was back level on 67 minutes, though, with Pritchard volleying home an equaliser for the hosts.

Head coach Frankie McAvoy was able to call upon skipper Alan Browne from the off for the first time in pre-season, while the eventual goalscoring trialist started on the bench.

After Sean Maguire sent a speculative shot wide in the opening five minutes, the first meaningful effort of the game came 13 minutes in, when Ryan Ledson’s whipped free-kick from the left was tipped over the crossbar by James Trafford.

Declan Rudd was first tested ten minutes later by Matt Butcher, but the goalkeeper was equal to his 20-yard strike.

After Ledson went into the book midway through the half for a high challenge on Pritchard, North End created the next chance of the game, with Greg Cunningham and the booked midfielder linking up well on the left. His pull back was set in the direction of Ben Whiteman and Tom Barkhuizen, and the latter saw his left-footed effort rise over the bar.

At the other end, another strike from Butcher took a deflection on its way to goal from an Accrington Stanley man and the ball went just inches wide of post, as did an Emil Riis effort just moments later.

The last action of the first half saw Ledson swing a free-kick into the area and Liam Lindsay got up highest, but sent his header wide of goal.

PNE made a double change at the break, with Maguire and Browne departing, and on in their place was Brad Potts and a trialist.

It took the trialist just seven minutes to make an impact, as he opened the scoring by heading home from Barkhuizen’s cross from the right.

Another substitute, Joel Mumbongo for the hosts, had a great chance to draw his side level as he was released in behind the defence, however his effort dragged across the face of goal and out for a throw.

Stanley did soon have their equaliser, though, as Pritchard met a cross from the left and volleyed home into the bottom corner.

The last 15 minutes of the match was a battle between Mumbongo and Rudd, with the 'keeper preventing the forward from giving his side the lead on three occasions.

77 minutes in, the ball fell to Mumbongo less than ten yards out, but Rudd produced a fantastic save to keep him out.

The Stanley forward had another great chance four minutes from the end and again Rudd managed to thwart him, with the goalkeeper diving to his left to keep the scores level.

North End's No.1 then produced an even better stop in the final minute of the game as he scurried to his right to ensure the striker's header didn't get past him.

Starting XI: Rudd, Storey, Lindsay, Hughes, Barkhuizen, Whiteman, Ledson, Browne, Cunningham, Riis, Maguire.

Full-Time XI: Rudd, van den Berg, Bauer, Earl, Rafferty, Bayliss, Trialist A, Leigh, Harrop, Sinclair, Potts.

[themaclad]

Academy Stadium is a football stadium in Manchester, England, forming part of the Etihad Campus. Announced on 19 September 2011 as part of an 80-acre training facility to cater for around 400 youth players at a time,[2] the campus was opened on 8 December 2014.[3] The stadium, known simply as Academy Stadium, was inaugurated by students of Manchester Metropolitan University, who played the official first games on the pitch on 14 December 2014.[4]

Although not the biggest building of the facility the stadium still features numerous facilities more common to larger stadia, including a press room, board room, offices and retail space.[5] Situated only 400 metres from the City of Manchester Stadium, the Academy Stadium is linked to the mother ground via a 190-metre bridge across the intersection of Ashton New Road and Alan Turing Way.[6]

The stadium is the home stadium of the Elite Development Squad and other senior academy teams, and also of Manchester City Women. In 2016, it was used as one of the two venues for that year's World Rugby Under 20 Championship in rugby union, alongside AJ Bell Stadium in Salford.[7]

MACS VIEW

Quiet week, first up City sadly behind closed doors due to a Covid outbreak at City , fairly young squad although they probably will sneak in a few senior players who have had the summer off like Mahrez,, think with this and the United game we may see the majority of those who will kick off against Hull playing in both.

[themaclad]

#ManCity provisional squad vs Preston: Steffen, Carson, Slicker; Sandler, Charles, Ake, Dias, Cancelo, Burns, Couto, Mendy; Fernandinho, Smith, Roberts, Pozo, Hamilton, Knight; Palmer, Mahrez, Rogers, Moreno.

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From club website

It’s another step up for PNE in their pre-season preparations on Tuesday evening as they face Premier League champions Manchester City.

The match, taking place behind closed doors at the Academy Stadium just next to the Etihad, will get underway at 7pm.

It’ll be the first game of pre-season for Pep Guardiola’s men, who are still without a lot of their big hitters from this summer’s European Championships and Copa America.

As you’d expect, though, there will still be plenty of quality for Pep to choose from, with the likes of Riyad Mahrez, Benjamin Mendy and Fernandinho available for selection.



There will be plenty of youth in the mix as well, with Tommy Doyle and Liam Delap, who have both made first team appearances in the last couple of seasons, also likely to feature.

Meanwhile, for Frankie McAvoy, his squad came through Saturday's test against Accrington Stanley unscathed and he will be hoping to welcome back a few players, too.

Ched Evans missed that fixture, but should be available on Tuesday evening, as should Alan Browne, who made his first appearance of pre-season at the Wham Stadium.

Tuesday night will likely come too soon for Matthew Olosunde, though, as he continues his recovery from an Achilles injury, while Jack Baxter, Noah Mawene and Adam O'Reilly will also be absent.

For the Lilywhites, City will be their sixth opponents of pre-season and the game will mark the first of three in the space of five days, with Wigan Athletic and Manchester United to come on Friday and Saturday respectively.

[themaclad]

[themaclad]

Mahrez 1-0

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Edozie 2-0

[themaclad]

Ripley having a mare apparently