After a concerning 2-1 loss at home to Stoke City on the 9th March, Preston North End showed tremendous character to bounce back the following week. A 1-0 triumph over Plymouth Argyle just prior to the international break has given them some momentum to build on.
With a total of five fresh injuries and illnesses ; Alan Browne, Ben Whiteman, Emil Riis, Brad Potts and Milutin Osmajic, all before the international break, North End may well have been wary about their players’ fitness and exposure over these past two weeks.
It’s a busy Easter weekend for Preston who first welcome Rotherham to Deepdale on Friday before travelling to Birmingham on Monday. They’ll be hoping that a winning run can now be put together for a late tilt at the play-off places.
Five senior squad members received an international call-up for their nations’ respective fixtures and their performances offered a certain degree of intrigue.
Robbie Brady – Republic of Ireland
The 32-year-old has received some unwarranted criticism this season from the Lancashire side’s fans and plenty of eyebrows were raised when he was selected to represent his nation this time around. However, Brady started against Belgium and Switzerland, in which he averaged an impressive 7.1 match rating across both games. With a clean sheet against a revitalised Belgium side, the Irishman proved that he still has the defensive capabilities, that have recently come under scrutiny, to carry out an even deeper wing-back duty and still roam forward when necessary.
These performances should allow Brady to continue to push back into the Ireland set-up, and also reassure Preston fans that he is more than capable of stepping up when he is called upon in this crucial run of league fixtures.
Ali McCann – Northern Ireland
A player who has seemingly grown into his deep-lying role at Preston is Northern Ireland’s Alistair McCann. With a substitute appearance against Romania on the 22nd, McCann was given little time to provide much of an impact in the 1-1 draw. The same cannot be said about his solid performance in a 1-0 win against Scotland a couple of days ago. In a game where the Scots held an outstanding 82% possession, McCann was vital in the centre of midfield and effective in stopping the barrage of attacks thrown his way.
With an increasing level of trust being handed to the 24-year-old from Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill, the Lilywhites will be thankful that he has continued his underrated form over this spell. Just as importantly, he has survived any injury scares and has been slightly rested before the subsequent, congested set of games.
Kian Best – England Under-19s
Best is already a fan favourite at Deepdale and has given fans a hopeful sense of pride, seeing a home-grown talent representing his club and country so early on in his career. With a promising second half outing in a disappointing 3-2 loss against USA’s Under-20 side, North End fans will be delighted to see the 18-year-old back playing after his recent ankle injury. That said injury has seen him sidelined since his 16-minute cameo against Chelsea in the FA Cup earlier this year.
With an equally as solid performance in a 1-1 draw against Morocco’s under-19s, North End fans must be relishing his exposure to the England set-up and may well have a bright asset on their hands.
Montenegrin striker Milutin Osmajic also received a call-up but failed to play against Belarus nor North Macedonia, as he looks more focused on recovering from the knock he picked up against Plymouth Argyle. Liam Millar was subject to Canada selection too but was surprisingly an unused substitute against Trinidad and Tobago in their CONCACAF Nations League Promotion Final game.
Plenty of positives can be taken from the international break and now reaching the pointy end of the season, Ryan Lowe will be thankful that all of his players have made it through without picking up injuries.
