Preston North End have started life under Paul Heckingbottom excellently, racking up another win and a clean sheet, with work still to be done in the transfer market.
There were plenty of positives to take from this scintillating 5-0 victory against Harrogate Town, in the EFL Cup second round. The Lilywhites are yet to find out their opposition in the next stage, but will be hoping for an away day at a top Premier League club, in order to boost their finances in the closing window.
An understanding of Milutin Osmajic’s strengths
Paul Heckingbottom has praised his Montenegrin striker’s stunning hat-trick and performance against Harrogate, explaining how he plans to deploy him in the North End side.
“Milly’s a very direct player, who plays on the last man, which is where we want him. I’m not bothered if he doesn’t do anything else, keep him out the way and play on the last man.”
This is extremely refreshing to hear for the Lancashire side’s supporters. The 25-year-old seemingly appeared lost in the set-up under Ryan Lowe, flitting between playing as a strike-partner and a lone number nine frequently.
Playing on the last man has allowed Osmajic to exemplify his strengths in attack. The striker’s pace to beat his marker is a huge positive in the Montenegrin’s game, and this performance showed his powerful shooting and clinical finishing.
Milly the hat-trick hero โฝ๏ธ โฝ๏ธโฝ๏ธ @pnefc #pnefc #CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/CC5gxXDAUj
— Ian Robinson (@SnapperIan) August 28, 2024
This is Osmajic’s second PNE hat-trick since joining the club in September 2023, the first of which came against Huddersfield Town in April last season. A new role, solely focusing on the upside to the 25-year-old’s game, will hugely benefit Preston when a goal is direly needed. This change will also play to the rest of the team’s creative strengths.
When the former Cadiz player was interviewed after the 5-0 thumping, a simple but assuring answer was given on his mindset as a forward:
“I am a striker. I need goals. I want more hat-tricks.”
๐ฒ๐ช "I am a striker. I need goals. I want more hat-tricks."
โฝ๏ธโฝ๏ธโฝ๏ธ #pnefc pic.twitter.com/wGzh5yGZk4
— Preston North End Post (@PNEFCPost) August 28, 2024
Lilywhites much braver in attack
The build-up play is noticeably more structured and focuses on retaining possession and moving up the field, rather than in the last couple of seasons where the sole objective was to launch long balls up to the striker.
These intricate passes in the Harrogate victory, between players like Thรณrdarson and Okkels, felt more emphasised. The intent of playing the ball through defensive lines and into space for the North End players to run on to, created vast amounts of opportunities.
The Icelandic midfielder was key to most of the build-up play in the first half particularly. Thรณrdarson completed 40 accurate passes in the 73 minutes that he played; the 25-year-old partnered Ryan Ledson and opted for a deeper playmaking role in the team, which worked superbly. Although at times, the former Silkeborg midfielder was crying out for the ball to be played to him, but some opportunities were missed.
Notably, there were very few times towards the end of last season under Lowe, in which the Preston attackers outnumbered their opposition’s defence in certain scenarios. However, the willingness of players to search for routes up the pitch has been rejuvenated under Heckingbottom. This was highlighted throughout the games where ‘3 vs 2’ situations started to appear more and more for the Lancashire side.
Set pieces finally look up to scratch
An exemplary addition to the North End line-up, is Sam Greenwood and the 22-year-old’s set-piece specialty. In the Harrogate game, the number 20 opened up the scoring with a finely-placed free kick, taken from a difficult angle and curled in remarkably. After nestling his effort in the top-left corner, Greenwood proceeded to double the visitors lead with a cooly taken penalty into the bottom-left this time.
Oooooosh!!! Super Sammy Greenwood #pnefc
— ๐๐ ๐๐๐ โ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ค๐ (@_OnTheConcourse) August 28, 2024
Ben Whiteman was on corner kick duty last season, but this change in personal has allowed Preston to utilise their aerial threat in the box. Liam Lindsay came close twice with two glancing headers, thanks to the near-perfect deliveries from Greenwood. The Leeds United loanee will be an important asset for Heckingbottom’s side and offers a reliable source of service in dead ball situations; this area has been lacking consistency and quality in recent seasons.
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