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LAST SEASON
PRESTON NORTH END 2 STOKE CITY 2

LAST TIME OUT
SWANSEA CITY 3 PRESTON NORTH END 2

STOKE CITY 2 DERBY COUNTY 2


City have been busy during the transfer window bringing in ten players, paying fees for Tommy Smith and Liam Lindsay getting Nick Powell on a free from the Pies, Lee Gregory from Millwall free and borrowing Scott Horgan from the Villa.
Last season their fans assured us they would walk this tinpot league and here they are rocking up at Deepdale again. As with last season Sky have decided to screen it as the main game who lucky we are to have a broadcaster who will show two of our games live each season whilst Leeds..............

Interesting clash especially Pearson against McLean which culd be worth the admission money alone, Pearo wound up the non poppy wearer at the endof the game at the Bet 365 last season could be epic.
Expect a few changes for us as Moult likely will not play again this season.

Match Officials: Stoke City Home





This Wednesday we have a referee taking charge of just his second game at Deepdale and also his second PNE match overall.
The match official for the clash with Nathan Jones’ Potters is John Brooks, now in his second season on the Select Group Two list of referees.

The Leicestershire ref was in charge of North End’s 3-2 home win over Millwall in December last year, whilst he was also the referee of one Potters game, their 3-0 home defeat to Wigan Athletic, early on in the season, when Ashley Williams saw red.
Overall in his first season on the Championship list, he took charge of 40 games, issuing 156 cautions and five red cards, including the aforementioned one of City’s on loan defender.
This season he has only officiated over two games thus far, Swansea’s opening day 2-1 win over Hull City and then Grimsby Town’s 1-0 shock EFL Cup win over Doncaster Rovers.

He will be assisted by Akil Howson and Richard Wild, whilst the fourth official will be Peter Wright.

[themaclad]

Preston North End 3 Johnson, Bodin, Harrop Stoke City 1 McClean

PNE line-up: Rudd, Clarke © (Fisher, 40), Rafferty, Pearson, Bauer, Davies, Bodin (Potts, 59), Gallagher (Browne, 82), Barkhuizen, Johnson, Harrop. Subs not used: Ripley, Ledson, Green, Stockley.

Stoke City line-up: Butland, Edwards, Allen, Lindsay, Batth ©, Ince (Vokes, 70), McClean, Gregory, Hogan (Etebo, 58), Clucas, Woods (Collins, 46). Subs not used: Federici, Smith, Campbell, Duffy.

Attendance: 11,973 (1,302 Stoke City fans)

Referee: Mr J Brooks

Jack Butland, England keeper with nine caps was the man for North End last night majestically making two errors which cost his team two goals and the points. After City dominated the early stages they were undone by the first error from the keeper, Barkhuizen down the right, cross cleared to Johnson, bouncing shot Jack goes down in stages misses ball one up. Then he does it again, Rudd's almighty punt down the ground Butland flaps clearence to Bodin, the shot wasn't exactly powerful through defenders legs and through keeper two up and to make it worse for him they kept reshowing them on the big screen utterly epic.
Once two up North End played some decent football although some of the passing was wayward as always. Rudd was rarely tested if at all during the first period, one footed show pony Ince fired one past the post and having to shoot with his right put one way over the bar.
Little was seen of their strikeforce although on the stroke of half time we had a couple of hairy moments which we dealt with.

Second half Stoke shaded it a couple of iffy moments from corners before Harrop picked up a wayward pass 30 yards out fed Johnson, the dreadlocked one sent a couple of defenders the wrong way before putting in a shot that Butland saved the rebound fell to Harrop, left footed far corner 3-0.
The game got slightly heated McClean trying to strangle Darnell only a yellow?!!!! The non poppy wearer pulled a goal back late on after realising Fisher had fallen asleep instead of marking him. City claim for a penalty late on but the centrifugal force on Vokes stomach caused him to collapse in a heap in the box, not given by Mr Brooks, speaking of which.
His performance will long rank in the memory as being totally one sided, not surprisingly booked Pearson for his first tackle and then proceeded to give City virtually everything. Clueless.
Good all round performace Johnson great as was Bauer, for Stoke McClean played well for them he is a decent footballer but can be a total bell end.
Three points onto the Wendies on Saturday