please log in to view this image @pnefc Cardiff City will become the 116th different team that Preston North End have faced in the history of the FA Cup when the two battle it out for a place in the fourth round on Sunday afternoon. Match Information Venue: Cardiff City Stadium Date: Sunday 9th January, 2pm kick-off Competition: Emirates FA Cup third round Kit: Home kit – available to order here! Due to Covid-19 measures in place in Wales, this fixture will take place behind closed doors at the Cardiff City Stadium. There will be no replays for the third or fourth round of this year's FA Cup competition, meaning that if the scoring is level after 90 minutes on Sunday, the game will head to a period of extra-time and then penalties, if required. The fourth round draw will take place live on ITV1 at around 4.50pm on Sunday afternoon, following the conclusion of the televised West Ham United vs Leeds United fixture. Match Coverage please log in to view this image First Team News How To Follow Cardiff City FA Cup Tie 16 Hours ago As this is an Emirates FA Cup fixture, there will be no video coverage on iFollow PNE for supporters anywhere in the world, but live commentary will be available with a normal £2.50 match pass, or with any monthly or seasonal pass. Fans are however able to watch the game live on S4C with English commentary. Find full details on that by clicking here. PNE Team News Speaking to iFollow PNE, manager Ryan Lowe confirmed that all those who were available for the last game against Stoke City will again be in contention on Sunday. The gaffer has also suggested this game may provide an opportunity to give some players who haven’t yet featured much under him a chance to impress. Those who will miss out include Cardiff City loanee Josh Murphy, who has suffered an injury setback, forward Connor Wickham and long-term absentee Izzy Brown. The Opposition please log in to view this image It was all change at Cardiff City in October when Mick McCarthy left the club and up stepped Steve Morison, firstly as interim boss before being given the job full-time after positive results. They do however come into this game four without a victory in the Championship, albeit they have faced the likes of promotion chasers AFC Bournemouth and West Bromwich Albion in that time. The Bluebirds could be without a few of their frontmen for this weekend's clash, with Kieffer Moore out with an ankle injury, while James Collins could miss out through illness. Key Stats This will be PNE's 362nd game in the FA Cup, however it will be the first time that they have come up against Cardiff City in the competition. North End are looking to progress to the fourth round for the first time since 2018, when a 5-1 demolition of Wycombe Wanderers set up a tie against Sheffield United. Meanwhile, Cardiff City will be looking to address their recent form at home, starting this weekend, having been beaten in nine of their last ten games on their own patch. Our Last Meeting Steve Morison and Cardiff City left Deepdale with all three points in November 2021. PNE had got off to a very fast start, with Sean Maguire opening the scoring inside just two minutes, but two second-half goals from the visitors turned the game around. Man In The Middle please log in to view this image Andy Woolmer will take charge of his second PNE game this season on Sunday, with the previous fixture being North End’s 2-1 victory away against Middlesbrough in November. In fact, the Lilywhites tend to do well with Woolmer as the referee, going the last nine unbeaten with him in the centre. So far this term, he has officiated 19 games, showing 63 yellow cards while he is yet to send a player off.
please log in to view this image Them doors is shut at the Cardiff City Stadium please log in to view this image Given the game is in S4C this is the nearest pub to the ground get yourself a table for six and watch in comfort First ever cup game between the sides MACS VIEW Wasn't going anyway but the decision to put it behind closed doors is a nonsense doubt whether there would have been more than 5000 on in a 30000 stadium but that is the way of the world. Lowe indicating strong side will be put out which is how it should be, game settled on the day biggest choice do you watch with Welsh commentary
It’ll be a soulless occasion. Mind you if it had been open to fans if recent history is anything to go by, there’d have been a sparsely populated stadium. At least both our clubs have triangular flags; unlike our neighbours either side of the bridge
Cardiff City 2 Davies Harris Preston North End 1 Johnson pen A late Cardiff City goal in extra-time saw Preston North End knocked out in the third round of the Emirates FA Cup. The home side had taken the lead shortly before half-time, with Isaak Davies beating Daniel Iversen in goal, but less than ten minutes into the second period, Daniel Johnson drew PNE level from the penalty spot. It looked as though the game was going all the way to a penalty shootout, but a 116th-minute goal from substitute Mark Harris earned the Welsh side the victory. Ryan Lowe made four changes from Monday’s victory over Stoke City, as in came Greg Cunningham, Ali McCann, Ryan Ledson and Sean Maguire in place of Andrew Hughes, Ben Whiteman, Alan Browne and Ched Evans. PNE dominated all the early stages of the game, keeping the ball well and waiting patiently to create an opportunity, and that very nearly came when Ledson looked for Josh Earl at the back stick, but his shot was deflected wide. Other than a Daniel Johnson effort struck wide of goal on 16 minutes, there were few chances of note in the next stages of the game. That was until the 25-minute mark when Marlon Pack sent Davies through on goal after Emil Riis had lost the ball, but the young forward couldn’t find the target one-on-one with Daniel Iversen, sending it wide from inside the area. Davies made no mistake three minutes before the break, though, as he made his way past Sepp van den Berg and Patrick Bauer to make it into the box, before slamming low through the legs of Iversen to break the deadlock. North End were level soon into the second half, as a clever ball from Ledson found Maguire in a dangerous position, and defender Ciaron Brown mistimed his tackle inside the area to bring down the Irishman. Captain for the day Johnson stepped up to take the spot kick, staying cool to slot home to his left. Maguire and McCann had half opportunities to win the game in 90 minutes for North End, but ultimately it was to go to extra-time. Both sides had chances to go ahead in the opening period, firstly with Josh Earl volleying an effort wide, before Mark Harris looked for the far corner with a curling shot, only to be denied by a flying Iversen save. Substitute Harris was heavily involved in the half hour of extra-time, firstly being denied by a brilliant flying save from Iversen, but there was nothing the Dane could do to keep him out as a cross four minutes from time found him just more than six yards out and he fired home. Harris could have given his side a two-goal advantage with the last kick of the game as Cardiff broke free, but Iversen produced a big stop to keep the score at 2-1. Cardiff City line-up: Phillips; Brown (Harris, 68), Morrison, Nelson; Ng, Pack (Sang, 100), Vaulks, Colwill (Wintle, 75), Bagan; Davies (Evans, 90), Collins. Subs not used: Ratcliffe, McGuinness, Flint, Sang, Harris, King, Patten. PNE line-up: Iversen; van den Berg, Bauer, Cunningham; Potts, Ledson (Whiteman, 80), Johnson (Browne, 104), McCann (Harrop, 80), Earl; Riis (Sinclair, 58), Maguire (Evans, 93). Subs not used: Hudson, Lindsay, Browne, Storey, Rafferty. Referee: Mr A Woolmer. Cardiff City boss Steve Morison told BBC Sport Wales: "We deserved our goal, we were excellent in the first half... the second half was scrappy. "They scored the penalty but our subs came on and showed great heart and character to help us over the line. I thought everyone was excellent for us today, it was a real team effort. "We will take that, we get a good buzz from winning and we have got Liverpool in the next round. "But now we box this off and focus on Blackburn in the league in our next game." Preston boss Ryan Lowe said: "We played well in spells, but we didn't have the finishing edge and paid the price with four minutes to go. "It should have finished 1-1 and gone into penalties. "We had dealt with their long balls really well all game, but we lacked concentration and got caught out. "It would have been nice to have made the next round but we are not going to win the FA Cup so it's back to Championship football."
PNE have more important issues to deal with than progressing in the FA Cup. It is lucrative to progress but truth be told developing a squad capable of progressing the league and perhaps winning promotion next season is the main issue. or NE, the FA cup is a distraction especially considering outside factors impinging on football. Thank goodness NE is not in European competitions!
