Preston North End v Sheffield United: Iliman Ndiaye and Oli McBurnie prove a point for the Championship leaders
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Paul Heckingbottom hadn’t felt the need to issue this reminder en route to Deepdale. But even Sheffield United’s usually circumspect manager, whose team had won six out of nine before dispatching Preston North End, was happy to run with the idea after watching goals from Iliman Ndiaye and Oli McBurnie ensure his team enters the international break in first place.
“Twenty three points so far,” acknowledged Heckingbottom, “We’ve got to be delighted with that.”
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Hide AdHeckingbottom, quite rightly, also struck a note of caution. Preston dominated long periods of the contest and were in the ascendancy when Ndiaye, celebrating his latest call-up for Senegal , pounced against the run of play. But the ability to grind out results, positive ones at least, is the hallmark of every promotion winning squad. United might boast an embarrassment of riches in attack, Ndiaye included. But they owed their victory here to a rearguard superbly marshalled by John Egan. For all the pressure applied by Ryan Lowe’s men, Wes Foderingham did not have a save to make until thwarting Alan Browne soon after McBurnie’s had scored his fourth in five outings.
“First-half, we were lethargic,” Heckingbottom continued. "That’s something we’ve got to improve on.”
Preston don’t win many games. The trouble, as Heckingbottom’s assistant Stuart McCall reminded beforehand, is that they don’t lose many either; conceding only twice in the competition ahead of kick-off. That “incredible” statistic, as McCall had described it ahead of kick-off, prompted United to load their attack. It was a gamble, with Rhian Brewster partnering McBurnie and Tommy Doyle dropping to the bench.
Heckingbottom’s decision to throw a little caution to the wind eventually paid off, with Ndiaye scoring his fifth of the campaign just before the interval.
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Hide AdBut as he watched the action unfold from the stands, his punishment for being found guilty of using insulting words to an official earlier this month, Ryan Lowe will have been happier than his counterpart from Bramall Lane. Preston dominated the majority of the first-half, until Ndiaye did what he does best by leading defenders a merry dance before firing the ball past Freddie Woodman and in off the far post.
This wasn’t the arm-wrestle most people had predicted after studying Preston’s form guide. Instead, with Brewster and McBurnie both going close during the opening skirmishes, the usually conservative hosts went all radical too. Emil Riis, dispossessed by Chris Basham following a dangerous counter-attack, was a particular nuisance.
With the Dane continuing to cause problems and former United midfielder Ben Whiteman a growing influence, the visitors were surviving on a combination of wit and some excellent blocks from Egan, George Baldock and Basham.
That was until Ndiaye wrestled back the momentum, weaving this way and that through Preston’s rearguard and depositing the ball in the back of their net. McBurnie followed suit late on, profiting from Sander Berge’s powerful run and Heckingbottom’s decision to nudge the Norwegian upfield after initially handing him a deeper lying role.
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Hide Ad“Two really good finishes, but we can get better,” said Heckingbottom, much to the disappointment of United’s rivals. “There’s still lots for us to work on.”