Deepdale Delight for Super Reds

Hands up, and be honest, who saw that coming?

I certainly didn't, particularly after the shambles at Reading last weekend. If we can't even manage one measly attempt on target against a side second bottom in the league, what chance did we have at Preston, a team with an impressive home record?

The journey to Deepdale was interesting, to say the least. After queueing in traffic for almost an hour on the M62, we finally managed to break the 50mph barrier and get to Lancashire. That wasn't the end of the fun, though. It never is when your sat-nav is nothing more than a liar. To be fair, I do manage to get lost going to most away games, despite all my meticulous planning beforehand. I actually managed to get lost going to Donny this season, believe it or not (in my defence, you'd think 'The Arsenal of the Championship' would signpost the ground a little better...) so going wrong in Preston was never truly in doubt. But when a sat-nav says "You are 3 minutes from the ground" it invariably means "You're fookin' miles off, walk at your own peril". Of course, in hindsight I shouldn't have listened, but it meant me and my old man walking for what seemed like a lifetime. And the ground is a tease too. It appears behind every house, down every street, and yet you never seem to arrive at it. Strange stuff, but at least the nice, long walk made the pre-match beer that bit sweeter.


Actual footage of where I parked...

The ground (when we finally got there) is one of the nicer ones in this division. It looks modern yet retains it's traditional feel too. The enclosed sides add to the atmosphere, which tonight, certainly in the away end, was fantastic. The Reds fans were noisy, passionate and on top form all night. The 'Darren Ferguson Chant' was out in full force many times, and just as enjoyable as it was those months ago at London Road. Of course, it helps when the team give the fans something to sing about on the pitch, and they didn't let us down tonight.

The best team won tonight, no doubt about it. At times, the football was terrific to watch; we were patient when we needed to be, aggressive when the situation required it, and controlled the tempo for about 75 of the 90 minutes. Teixeira looked promising, and with match fitness under his belt, he could turn out to be a masterstroke signing by MR. Several players will seriously feel they'd done enough to warrant a MOTM award, but for me, Doyle wins it hands down. He was involved in everything we did. He broke up any Preston attacks, and created countless chances for us with his patient, calm range of passing. He thrived next to Colace today, and between them they were on top of almost everything. And this meant that Anderson had the freedom to play as he should; it was the Brazilians best game for us in a long time. In fact, it was the teams best performance for us in a while, if not the whole season . 4-1 was about right, although we could even have nicked another. Performances like that will only breed confidence, something which has been in desperately short supply recently.

Obviously, not everything was perfect; Steele looked shaky again on a couple of occasions, and the less said about Darren Moore's moment of madness, the better. But other than that, all players come out of this with a lot of credit. It was great to watch, and should settle a few nerves around the place in regards to our league position. Maybe people can start dreaming about moving up the table again, instead of back down into the brown stuff. And it was a fantastic sight looking at the league table and seeing us sitting proudly in the top half for the first time since the opening day.

The walk back to the car after the full time whistle didn't seem half as long and winding as it had before. I even managed to overhear a couple of Preston lads discussing how they "always lost to the shit teams"! If we were shit tonight, then I fear for them more than us, because in all honesty, we outclassed them all over the park. Still, I hope those two enjoyed their portion of sour grapes, and hopefully the more honest Preston fans will be able to admit that we were good value for the win. The sat-nav didn't let me down on the way home; in all honesty, even if it had, nothing would have crushed my good mood. Days like this one don't come along often (enough) for us, so I'll be cherishing this one for a while.

Watford next up at Oakwell then. They've had a confidence boosting win tonight against someone or other, and may well fancy having a pop at us on Saturday. But if we can perform like that, then I'm very confident we can get the points.

Thanks for reading.