Match Day Thread Preston North End v Ipswich Town Deepdale 19/4/2019

After the chaos of last week with the would he go or would he stay, the announcement that Alex Neil had signed a new three year deal with us came as a surprise to many. The preparations for Friday's game against Ipswich will have been normnal although the list of injuries that we have will have narrowed down the choices for who actually plays, still think Browne should be rested given he rupture ligaments and was favouring his ankle at the Albion last weekend.
Time for the team to pick up some bronie points after the what really was a shambles last week and who should rock up be the new;ly relegated Tractor Boys.
To say this season has been an unmitigated disaster for them is an understatement and to make it worse there localish rivals Norwich are also seemingly heading out of the League albeit into the Premiership.
They started off with Paul Hurst as manager potted him when they realised they were about to play us and then appointed Paul Lambert who in successive seasons has been in charge of teams that have gone down although to be fair to the happy Scot the damaged had been done long before he arrived.
He signed some experience to try and get them out of the mire however relegation seemed a certainty since just after Christmas.
They also have a lot of injuries suspect a very youthful side against us on Friday


Team News: Ipswich Town
The picture below of Gally being tackled did not result in a free kick

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Manager Alex Neil is still without Ben Pearson, who sits out the second of the three game suspension he picked up for his red card against Leeds United.

He joins the extensive list of players unavailable to the North End boss, with almost a whole team out for the season due to their respective injuries.

Billy Bodin and Josh Harrop (both ACL) have missed the majority of the season and have been joined in the treatment room in recent weeks by Tom Barkhuizen (knee), Andrew Hughes (hamstring) and Brad Potts (knee).

Skipper Tom Clarke (knee) and goalkeeper Connor Ripley (ankle) have also been on the sidelines in recent weeks, plus Manchester City loanee Brandon Barker, who ended his season with a hamstring strain against Reading.

The PNE boss did suggest at his pre-match press conference that the likes of Josh Ginnelly – who was given his debut at West Bromwich Albion last weekend – and Joe Rafferty could be given an opportunity to impress during the final four games of the season.

Midfielder Jon Nolan (Achilles) will be monitored by visiting boss Paul Lambert, whilst former North End loanee Will Keane (hamstring) and forward Ellis Harrison (back) both continue their rehabilitation.

Tom Adeyemi made his long-awaited return from injury in the Tractor Boys’ U23s game against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night and could be included with the first team for the first time since joining last summer.

Emyr Huws, Freddie Sears, Grant Ward (all knee), and Jack Lankester (back) are all definitely out for the Suffolk side ahead of their long Bank Holiday trip to the north west.


Ref Watch: Ipswich Town

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For the third time this season, but the first at Deepdale North End will have Steve Martin as the match official for a game when we face Paul Lambert’s Ipswich Town on Good Friday.
The experienced ref was in charge of the Lilywhites 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest in December, when Louis Moult scored the only goal of the game and then the trip to Millwall earlier this year, when we came away with a 3-1 victory at the Den.

Last season we saw the referee twice, the home game against Hull City in February and the away game at Wolves back in October 2017.

The 2016/17 campaign he took charge of three North End games, having been the man with the whistle of our home win over Cardiff City in September 2016, our away win at Norwich City in October and the 1-1 home draw with Ipswich Town in January 2017 – so he has done this fixture before!

The 3-0 win over the Bluebirds was his first clash at Deepdale since the EFL Cup second round victory over Watford in 2015/16, when Marnick Vermijl’s goal won the tie for the Lilywhites.
He also officiated PNE in March 2013 when we drew 0-0 with Leyton Orient. He also, however, refereed North End twice after then on the road – red cards being produced in both encounters.

He sent off Oldham Athletic’s Johnson Clarke-Harris when the Lilywhites beat the Latics 3-1 at Boundary Park in March 2014. And he was also the man in the middle when PNE made the long journey to Havant & Waterlooville in the FA Cup in 2014/15, sending off two Havant players in the live televised match as PNE swept their non-league opponents aside 3-0 thanks to Callum Robinson’s hat-trick.

This weekend his team will see him assisted by Jonathan Hunt and Mark Jones, whilst the fourth official will be Ollie Yates. This will be Stephen’s 32nd game of the season, having issued 80 yellow cards and three reds, his last game being Reading’s 2-1 home win over Brentford last Saturday.

 

Preston North End 4 Robinson2 Nmecha 2 Ipswich Town 0

PNE line-up: Rudd, Rafferty, Fisher, Ledson, Storey, Davies, Gallagher © (Moult, 70), Johnson, Nmecha, Maguire (Ginnelly, 73), Robinson (Stockley, 76). Subs not used: Crowe, Earl, Huntington, O’Reilly.

Ipswich Town line-up: Bialkowski, Chambers ©, Skuse, Jackson, Bishop (Chalobah, 76), Downes, Nsiala, Emmanuel (Bree, 46), Kenlock, Judge, El Mizouni (Keane, 59). Subs not used: Gerken, Nolan, Dozzell, Ndaba.

Referee: Mr S Martin

Attendance: 12,546 (428 Ipswich Town fans)

First of all huge credit to the 428 Ipswich fans who made the marathon journey to watch a side already relegated get a hammering at a sun drenched Deepdale, we got four probably should have doubled that but the four game losing run is over.
Rafferty made his first start at right back with Fisher moving to left back, Browne as I thought would be left out as he is clearly far from fit. Young O'Reilly was on the bench.
It didn't take long for us to take the lead Robinson firing hom a bueat from just outside the box.
Nmecha could have made it two but was denied by a great late tackle by Nsala, from the resulting corner Davies's header hit the post, wasn't long until the second went in, Rafferty cross ball headed up into the air, control then shot by Robinson and lead doubled
Nmecha missed another good chance before Town exerted a modicum of pressure, the always useful Judge caused us a few problems aided by Bishop forced Rudd into a decent save.
North End should have gone further ahead Robinson shot saved by Bialkowski ball rebounded to Nmecha on headed towards the empty goal only to see the Polish keeper pull off a brilliant save.
On the strok of half time Chambers forced Rudd into a good save with a header from a corner.
Slow start to the second half until Maguire got down the left fed Robinson shot parried and Nmecha finally scored.
Town should have reduced the arrears after Rudd and Davies collided but couldn't get the ball quick enough and when the shot came it hit the underside of the bar and was cleared to safety.
The fourth soon arrived Robinson found Nmecha in tons of space didn't miss and then Stockley was denied late on by Bialkowski after unselfish work by Moult.
No alarms at the other end as easy as you like on to the Estadio de Pie on Monday and if it is not hammering down next Saturday that is my last home game of the season

Ipswich Town manager Paul Lambert told BBC Radio Suffolk:

"We were really, really poor. We got what we deserved. That's the worst game we've had since we came [into the club].

"They [the players] know my feelings. You can't play the game of football if you're going stand off people and not make a challenge.

"We were outplayed in every aspect today. I'm not going to stand here and sugar-coat it. That [style of defeat] won't happen again."
Have you heard about the news on Mizar 5

 

A useful win to break the sequence. Even with an injury hit squad, NE is superior to those in the bottom half.