Deepdale: Preston North End 2-1 Leicester City

Preston North End 2-1 Leicester City

It’s very disappointing being a Leicester City supporter at present, the club has been going backwards for several years now. No communication from the club to the fans. No new signings bar a 37 year old reserve keeper, and it’s obvious to everyone the squad is stale and needs an over haul. It seems several players remain who actually don’t want to be at the club and it’s this lack of togetherness and collective desire which is pretty obvious to most observers. PNE were certainly up for the challenge of relegated Premier League opposition and although City settled quicker in the first 5 minutes they were undone by a counter attack and a mis-judgement by Stolarczyk in the City goal. Spurs loanee Alfie Devine ran on to a through ball, the City keeper came rushing from his goal was never going to get there ahead of the Preston player who kept his calm rounded the keeper and shot home from an acute angle, a good finish and only 7 minutes gone. 1-0. Leicester were really poor in the final third with very little created, Preston who were physical were winning the battles and showing greater tenacity and were looking more dangerous going forward, several half chances being missed. New City boss Cifuentes started making substitutions early in the second half and City started to look a bit brighter. Fatwau denied by an excellent save by former Leicester keeper Daniel Iversen and then the keeper blocking an effort from Daka. With momentum building City started to cause PNE problems and the away support were on their feet in 67 minutes. An equaliser and a bit of club history. At 16 years and 37 days, Jeremy Monga becomes the youngest ever Leicester City goalscorer. Cutting in from the left he fired a low right foot show past Iversen. 1-1. It was very much game on but it was PNE who stole the show. They had defended well when needed and a breakaway with 5 minutes remaining proved decisive. Thierry Small burst down the right drove over a superb cross and Montenengro international Milutin Osmajic got between the City defenders for another good finish. 2-1. He could have scored again this time denied by the feet of Stolarczyk. With City desperately trying to get back in the game Preston made sure the ball was very much in the Leicester half in stoppage time. FT 2-1. Preston deserved their win, they worked hard they had greater strength and physicality something you need at this level and dare I say wanted it more. Leicester showed flashes but didn’t do enough and if they don t improve they will find themselves looking at a relegation battle. It was a glorious day in Lancashire unless you travelled up from the East Midlands where you see dark clouds! A day for Jeremy Monga to remember though he is certainly a bright talent.

Preston North End 6-0 Cardiff City

Deepdale is home of Preston North End (The Lilywhites). Adrian and I (Ross) set of from Tamworth at 8:30am and after an hour we reached the railway town of Crewe to visit Gresty Road. We then continued our journey up the M6 and arriving at Preston at 10:50. After purchasing our tickets, parking the car on St Thomas Road and take a few pictures of the outside of Deepdale, we went to a local Sainsburys for our pre-match meal before taking a visit to the National Football Museum at Deepdale. We both went to the museum during our visit in the summer. We suggest you spend 1-2 hours in the museum. The museum is free to enter with a cafe and shop. At twenty-five past two, we entered the stadium for the 3 o’clock kick off. This was game of the day. In the first half, Neil Mellor claimed both goal and a Ross McCormack penalty save on the 45’. The second half saw four more goals go past former Leicester City loanee Stuart Taylor between the sticks for Cardiff City. Goals by Jon Parkin, Chris Brown, Lee Williamson and a diving own goal by Mark Kennedy. The ground has been totally redeveloped with 4 stands. In 1995, the old West stand was replaced with £4.4 million Sir Tom Finney stand which took about a year to build and holds 8,100 supporters. Two years later saw the Bill Shankly Kop built. The stand holds 5,000 spectators and over half is for away supporters. In October 2001, the Alan Kelly stand was completed at the other end of the ground. In 2004, ‘The Splash’ statue was built outside the National Football Museum honouring Mr PNE, Sir Tom Finney. The design was based on Finney playing at a flooded Stamford Bridge in 1954. 2007 saw the end of an era for the Old Pavilion stand and the start of a new for the Invincibles Pavilion. The Invincibles Pavilion is a much smaller stand due to the road being behind it but the roof starts at the same height as the other three stands which means it slopes more. Shortly after the construction saw the ground personalised with an LCD Screen in the Bill Shankly Kop and a clock fitted onto the Invincibles Pavilion with also the words ‘Deepdale’ and ‘Preston’ on either side of the clock. Overall our visit to Deepdale was very good and I (Ross) think that it’s a brilliant Championship ground.

Deepdale

Monday, 22 December 2025

Preston North End 2-1 Leicester City

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