[themaclad]

Preston North End were beaten 2-1 by fellow Sky Bet Championship side Ipswich Town in a pre-season friendly at Deepdale.

Conor Chaplin’s 18-yard effort in the 33rd minute opened the scoring and George Hirst doubled his side’s lead in the 78th minute.

16-year-old Felipe Rodriguez-Gentile then pulled a goal back for his side a few minutes later for his third goal of pre-season and also had a strike chalked off for offside in the final minute of play.


There were starts handed out to new recruits Mads Frøkjær-Jensen and Will Keane, while Liam Lindsay returned from a slight knock which kept him out at Barrow.

Freddie Woodman was called into action early on, diving to his right to keep out Massimo Luongo’s effort towards the front post.



The goalkeeper was required again a few moments later to prevent Chaplin from opening the scoring, before Nathan Broadhead fired over the rebound.

Chaplin was causing North End a few issues and tried his luck once more on the 20-minute mark as he took aim from the edge of the area, again forcing Woodman into a save.

PNE then came ever so close just after half an hour as a quick corner routine saw Ryan Ledson swing the ball in towards Patrick Bauer, and his headed knockdown appeared to get a slight touch from Keane to help it goalwards, but the ball bounced out off the post and was gathered by the ‘keeper.

In the next attack, the dangerous Chaplin gave his side the lead. Kayden Jackson’s pullback was flicked in the direction of the No.10 by Broadhead, and the forward fired a vicious effort past Woodman.

The Tractor Boys made seven changes at the half-time break and one of those introduced, Jack Taylor, arguably should have found his side’s second, heading Sone Aluko’s cross over from six yards.

At the other end, North End had a couple of opportunities – firstly through substitute Ben Woodburn, who headed wide from a Brad Potts cross, before Alan Browne could only find the side netting with a volley.

The match was starting to open up and PNE’s skipper had a great chance a few minutes later, which came about after great pressing from Noah Mawene, but the Irishman’s close-range effort was blocked on the line by Lee Evans.

It was then Ipswich’s turn to come close in the next attack and North End had Woodman to thank for a great save to deny Hirst before Liam Lindsay got in the way of Kyle Edwards’ rebound.

Hirst would get on the scoresheet, though, as he found the far corner in the 78th minute after being sent through on goal by Marcus Harness.

Three minutes later, North End had one back through teenager Rodriguez-Gentile, who did really well after receiving the ball with his back to goal, spinning and finding the bottom corner with great precision.

The youngster could well have earned his side a draw four minutes from time when the ball fell his way in the area, but his effort was deflected behind by an Ipswich defender.

Goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky had a very busy end to the game as he came up with impressive stops to deny Mawene and Liam Lindsay late on, before Rodriguez-Gentile then found the back of the net with almost the last touch of the game, only to be denied by the offside flag.

PNE line-up: Woodman (Cornell, 68); Storey (Diaby, 68), Bauer (Cunningham, 68), Lindsay; Potts (Seary, 68), Ledson, Browne (Rodriguez-Gentile, 76), Slater (Best, 68); McCann (Taylor, 68), Frøkjær (Woodburn, 56); Keane (Mawene, 63).

Attendance: 2,532 (349 Ipswich Town fans).

[themaclad]

Preston North End vAberdeen

DEEPDALE 22/7/2023

SO FAR THIS SEASON



https://www.afc.co.uk/

https://afc-chat.co.uk/forums/index.php?...-aberdeen/

SQUAD



Luís Henriques de Barros Lopes[2] (born 16 February 2000), commonly known as Duk, is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Scottish side Aberdeen. Born in Portugal, he represents Cape Verde at international level.

Career
Duk began his career at Benfica, playing 42 games for the B side across 2 seasons, scoring 11 goals. In July 2022, Duk signed for Aberdeen on a three-year deal from Benfica for an undisclosed fee.[3]

In March 2023 he was named Cinch Premiership player of the month.[4]

Internationally, Duk has represented Portugal at Under-18 and U19 level, but made his international debut for Cape Verde in 2022.

Given it's forecast to pour down this lad could be in his element

A few familiar names Graeme Shinnie, Leighton Clarkson and Rhys Williams

MANAGER

Barry Robson

Barry Gordon George Robson (born 7 November 1978) is a Scottish football coach and former player, who is currently the manager of Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen. Robson played as a midfielder for several clubs in Scotland, England and Canada and represented Scotland internationally.

Robson began his career as a youth player with Rangers before spells with Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Dundee United and finally Celtic in his native Scotland. A move to England followed, where he spent two and a half years with Middlesbrough. Robson then moved to Canada to play for MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps FC before returning to England after one season to sign for Sheffield United. Robson returned to Scotland, joining Aberdeen in summer 2013. He retired from professional football in 2016 and took up a coaching position with Aberdeen. After a run of good results in his second stint as their interim manager, Robson became Aberdeen manager in 2023.

Robson appeared 17 times for Scotland between 2007 and 2012.

Wonder if any of the actual first team will score, can't leave it all to a 16 year old, as stated forecast crap possibly if early call off in the cricket will make this epic apparently may be a few visitors in attendance

[themaclad]

[themaclad]

Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen will make the journey to Lancashire this weekend for the second match of a pre-season double header for Preston North End at Deepdale.

New signings Will Keane and Mads Frøkjær-Jensen made their first appearances since joining the club earlier in the week against Ipswich Town, and fellow recruits Duane Holmes and Calvin Ramsay could make their bows in Saturday’s 3pm kick-off.

Midfielder Holmes is the more likely of the two to feature, but this match could come too soon for Ramsay – who came through the ranks with his boyhood club Aberdeen – as he looks to get up to speed following a knee injury.


Andrew Hughes is now back in full-contact training but remains doubtful for this fixture, while Ben Whiteman is still a few weeks off a return.

Those who do play, though, should be in for a stern test coming up against the Dons, who finished third in the Scottish top flight last season.



Their impressive league finish helped them to earn a place in the Europa League Play-Off round, which means they’re just a two-legged tie away from reaching the group stages. Even if they were to lose, they’re guaranteed a place in the UEFA Europa Conference League.

One key man to look out for on Saturday is Cape Verde international Duk, who had a fantastic first season at Pittodrie last term, scoring 18 goals in all competitions.

Summer signing Rhys Williams – on loan from Liverpool – will be returning to familiar surroundings, having been born in Preston and grown up as a PNE fan, and there’s plenty of former Championship talent on show too such as Kelle Roos, Graeme Shinnie and Leighton Clarkson.

[themaclad]

PRESTON NORTH END 2 Frokjaer 2 Aberdeen 0

PNE line-up: Woodman; Diaby (Storey, 74), Lindsay (Bauer, 74), Cunningham (Slater, 66); Potts (Ramsay, 80), Taylor (Mawene, 66), McCann (Ledson, 74), Frøkjær (Holmes, 61), Best (Seary, 85); Keane (Stewart, 66), Woodburn (Rodriguez-Gentile, 74). Subs not used: Cornell.

Attendance: 4,271 (1,332 Aberdeen fans).

Referee: Mr O Langford.

Cricket duly called off early doors, so off to the Stadium of many broken dreams for season 54(full seasons) traditionally wet July afternoon, new junction on the M55 now open and the Town End roof in the process of being fixed. Stop the natives complaining about getting wet.
A throw back to times past, North End announce a signing on the day of the game Layton Stewart and in the stands was another potential signing Tom Cannon and if he signs will run naked around the village.
Early snifter in Finney's Bar the entertainment was a one man Ska Tribute band, madness really.
Onto the ground safely ensconsed in the comfy seat, to await the game. Decent turn out from North of the border



A fairly strong side with a couple of youngsters, minutes applause for Craig Brown and of we go.

The Dons started better of the two but on seven minutes the Danish Messi to be scored his first goal, started the move with a clever pass to Best, his cross into the box was not fully cleared and Frokjaer curled it from just outside the box into the net via the inside of the post.
Ten minutes later he was at it again, curling another past Roos into the net, should really have have had a hat tick but Roos denied him with an instinctive save from about 12 yards.

Frokjaer



Aberdeen had their chances mainly down to some less than convincing defending, one decent block and a couple of efforts went wide, apart from the goal the highlight was a Diaby 70 yard run with the ball, a machine when he is at full pelt.
Entertaining first half not sure how far Aberdeen are in regard to match fitness but we were impressive

Second period lacked the intensity of the first Aberdeen had more of the ball but Shinnie kept on driving them forward, don't think Woodman needed to make a save, a whole plethora of substitutions and just one chance for North End when a Dons defender nearly majestically buried one in his own net.

Decent work out with honourable mentions to Frokjaer, Keane, Woodburn, McCann, Best and Diaby, Holmes looked to have a decent turn of pace and always looked to go forward.

Two friendlies left then the real thing starts.

[themaclad]

[themaclad]

Fleetwood Town v Preston North End

Highbury 25/7/2023

FORM GUIDE



https://www.fleetwoodtownfc.com/

They don't appear to have a forum(not saying a word)

Summer News

http://www.sportsbabble.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?fid=81

MANAGER

Scott Brown

Aberdeen
Following his departure from Celtic in 2021, Brown signed with fellow Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen as a player-coach, working as assistant manager to Stephen Glass in addition to his role on the field.[171] After Glass' dismissal in February 2022, Brown's role as assistant manager was immediately given to Lee Sharp upon the appointment of Jim Goodwin.[172] Brown would depart Aberdeen the following month, citing a desire to pursue coaching opportunities elsewhere; he retired from playing in May 2022 and thus moved into full-time management.[173]

Fleetwood Town
On 12 May 2022, Brown was appointed head coach of EFL League One side Fleetwood Town.[174][175] On 7 January 2023, Brown led Fleetwood to the FA Cup fourth round for the first time in their history when his side beat EFL Championship side Queens Park Rangers 2–1 at Highbury Stadium.[176] On 7 February 2023, he subsequently led them to the fifth round after beating Sheffield Wednesday 1–0 in a replay.[177]

Personal view he's doing a decent job amid the turmoil off the field

HISTORY OF NOTE

Frank Searle

Frank Searle (born Eric Frank Searle; 18 March 1921 – 26 March 2005) was an English photographer who studied the disputed existence of the Loch Ness Monster. He took up residence at Loch Ness in 1969 living a frugal existence in a tent looking for definitive proof of the monster's existence. Eventually photographs began to appear from 1972 onwards and earned Frank a degree of fame as a monster hunter.

However, as the detail of the pictures increasingly improved with time, people began to suspect they were fakes. The matter was finally exposed in 1976 when the Scottish Sunday Mail carried a centre-page article proving that one of his photographs was taken from a postcard showing an Apatosaurus. Another picture was also proven to be a wooden post at a pier that was covered with cloth to make it monster-like.

As his reputation declined, he was involved with some skirmishes with other monster researchers which eventually led to a failed molotov cocktail attack on one of their boats. Searle denied any involvement in the matter and was never charged over it. Eventually he left the loch for good in the early 1980s to allegedly embark on a treasure hunting expedition.

Some years later he was eventually tracked down by Andrew Tullis for his documentary The Man who Captured Nessie. Searle had been living in a bedsit in Fleetwood, Lancashire, but had died only a few weeks before.



Preston North End will travel to face Fleetwood Town on Tuesday evening for the penultimate match of pre-season.

Fresh from winning 2-0 on home turf against Aberdeen at the weekend, Ryan Lowe’s side will continue their preparation for the new Championship campaign with a 7pm kick-off against the League One outfit.

Calvin Ramsay, Duane Holmes and Layton Stewart all made their first appearances for the club in that victory over the Dons and they’ll be hoping for more minutes on Tuesday evening.


There will be a couple of familiar faces in the Cod Army ranks, with North End Academy products and former first teamers Danny Mayor and Josh Earl now at Highbury, while forward Jayden Stockley is also a Fleetwood player, although he didn’t feature at the weekend against Blackburn Rovers.

Fleetwood Town – managed by Scott Brown – are preparing for their tenth campaign in the third tier, and they’ll be looking to build on last season’s 13th-placed finish.

As with friendlies suspect a lot of changes from Saturday, Holmes, Stewart and Ramsay may start although Ramsay will probably be a sub again given his recovery from injury. May be there depending on the weather and cricket practice
Usually competitive games against the Cod

[themaclad]

0-0 Apparently a bit fiesty 2 sent off and a brawl damn missed it

[themaclad]

Match Report: Fleetwood Town 0 PNE 0
9 Hours ago


@pnefc

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Preston North End and Fleetwood Town played out a goalless draw in a feisty pre-season friendly at Highbury.

Mads Frøkjær and Brad Potts were among those to come close for North End in the first half, while Dai Cornell was required to save a promising Phoenix Patterson free-kick.

Both sides were reduced to ten men in the second period, with Ryan Broom and Josh Seary both seeing red for strong challenges within ten minutes of each other, and neither team could find a breakthrough.


North End were lively right from the off on the Fylde coast, with Will Keane having an early effort blocked while Frøkjær – fresh from his brace against Aberdeen – came close to scoring again, but his clever flick on the end of Duane Holmes’ cross was well saved by Jay Lynch.

After Keane had headed over in the 13th minute, Cornell came up with an impressive save at the other end, diving acrobatically to his left to keep Patterson’s free-kick out.


The Fleetwood backline were coming up with some important blocks to keep the game goalless, firstly to deny Keane’s close-range effort before 18-yard strikes from Frøkjær and Lewis Leigh had bodies thrown in front of them.

No one was there to block Potts’ left-footed 39th minute effort, but ‘keeper Lynch dived to make sure the sides went into the break goalless.

North End made seven changes for the second half and one of those introduced – Patrick Bauer, who later went off with a nose injury – rose highest to head Kian Best’s corner towards goal, only for Brendan Wiredu to get in the way.

It looked, on 55 minutes, like the hosts were going to go ahead out of nothing as Ryan Graydon went charging through on goal, but captain Greg Cunningham came up with a crucial touch to knock the ball out for a corner before he could get a shot away.

Fleetwood went down to ten men just after the hour mark as Broom saw red for a late and dangerous challenge on Leigh, while less than ten minutes later Seary also received his marching orders for a foul on Junior Quitirna.

After all that drama, there wasn’t too much action of note at either end, with Maleace Asamoah's acrobatic effort which went wide in stoppage-time about as close as either side came to scoring in the second half.

PNE first half XI: Cornell; Storey, Lindsay, Hughes; Potts, Holmes, Leigh, Frøkjær, Best; Keane, Stewart.

PNE second half XI: Cornell; Diaby, Bauer (Seary, 66), Cunningham; Potts (Ramsay, 63), Taylor, Leigh (Kamara, 63), Mawene, Best (Pasiek, 76); Rodriguez-Gentile, Woodburn.

Subs not used: Woodman.

Referee: Mr J Simpson.

Attendance: TBC.

[themaclad]