Preston Cruise Into Round Four

Last updated : 23 September 2021 By @pnemad

It was the first professional meeting between the clubs but despite Cheltenham fairing well in recent times they were simply no match for Preston who ran out winners 4-1.

Changes were made with Cunningham, Rafferty, Lindsay and Wickham all making starts alongside Rudd in goal. The only dark spots on the night were injuries to Wickham who came off in the first ten minutes and Lindsay.

Preston took the lead when Hughes headed home and in reality the home team never looked back. Rafferty doubled the lead before the break when he converted from a cross and North End were in control.

The visitors had their best spell after the break for a period of around 5 - 10 minutes. Vassell managed to pull a goal back but any pressure was short lived.

The visitors ran out of steam and as the game came to a close Maguire scored from close range before Riis added to his growing tally for the season at the death.

It was good to see such a controlled performance especially with changes to the side. The injuries were unfortunate and Wickham will now struggle to make an impact with his contract expiring in January.

Preston now move on to an away league game at Birmingham where they will hope to extend their recent unbeaten run and climb up the league table.