Preston v Crystal Palace: Another Crystal Clear Away Win?
It was a fantastic result for Preston on their opening day of the season. Their opponents Ipswich lost just once at Portman Road in the 2007/08 season and naturally hoped to maintain this impressive record during this campaign. And it looked likely after the Tractor Boys took an early lead.
But Preston more than stepped up to the challenge; captain Paul McKenna producing a hypnotic 25-yard strike to pull level before Simon Whaley tapped in from close range to seal the win. Lilywhiter Neil Mellor also looked a decent threat as did summer signing Barry Nicholson. And it isn’t just the attack minded players who came up trumps as the stubborn rearguard of the North End defence ensured they left Portman Road with all three points; it appears Preston finally have a resourceful squad.
It says a lot about a team’s performance when their goal keeper was rated their best player. Julian Speroni pulled off several spectacular saves including one fine diving effort from former Crystal Palace winger Jobi McAnuff. Palace had their chances though with Victor Moses, Palace’s highly rated young winger, enjoying the best of their opportunity including a miss clear in front of goal.
Palace’s 0-0 draw continues their excellent clean sheet record; last season the Eagles conceded the fewest goals in the Championship while there were only three teams in the division who scored fewer goals than Preston. That was then though and this is now but if you do refer to previous head to head when making your Footy 15 predictions consider this; Palace have recorded three wins and one draw against Preston in the last two Championship seasons. Time for a change or just another case of history repeating…?
Pundits Pick: I’m going for history repeating (Away win)
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Tags: Championship, Crystal Palace, Football Predictions, footy 15, Match Preview, Preston North End
