Preston North End vs Sheffield United. Sky Bet Championship.
DeepdaleAttendance18,412.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Preston and Sheffield United at Deepdale as goals from Iliman Ndiaye and Oli McBurnie sealed victory for the Blades on Saturday.
Saturday 17 September 2022 18:42, UK
Oli McBurnie's fourth goal in five league games helped Sheffield United extend their lead to three points at the top of the Sky Bet Championship after a 2-0 away win over Preston.
Scotland international striker McBurnie fired home from close range with 15 minutes remaining after Senegalese midfielder Iliman Ndiaye had rifled the visitors ahead just before half-time.
Victory for Paul Heckingbottom's buoyant Blades was also their fourth league win in a row and extended their impressive unbeaten run to eight games.
Rivals Norwich slipped up as they were held to a 1-1 home draw with West Brom and dropped two points on the league leaders.
Preston boss Ryan Lowe made three changes from the side which drew 1-1 against Burnley in Tuesday night's Lancashire derby clash at Deepdale.
Manchester United loan recruit Alvaro Fernandez was handed his first league start having featured as a substitute five times in the league so far this season.
Republic of Ireland international midfielder Alan Browne returned to the starting side, with defender Andrew Hughes given the chance to shine.
Heckingbottom made one change to his team that edged Swansea 1-0 away from home, also on Tuesday evening.
Striker Rhian Brewster started with midfielder Tommy Doyle dropped to the bench, which also saw the inclusion of the club's veteran hitman Billy Sharp.
And it was the South Yorkshire visitors who started the brightest as Brewster chased down a ball on the left and saw his left-foot chipped shot fly just wide of the far upright.
McBurnie latched on to a fine cross from George Baldock, but his goalbound shot was superbly blocked by centre-back Liam Lindsay.
At the other end midfielder Ben Whiteman let rip with a howitzer which flew over the crossbar.
Midfielder Ali McCann had a right-foot shot deflected wide of the post as the hosts grew into the contest, before striker Emil Riis Jakobsen volleyed wide from close range.
McCann headed over from a Fernandez delivery as the Lilywhites pushed for an opener, while Whiteman lashed over from the edge of the box with another screamer.
Striker Troy Parrott, on loan from Tottenham, had a right-foot shot deflected wide for Preston, but it was the visitors who scored first against the run of play.
An indecisive Whiteman was robbed by Ndiaye who kept his cool and lashed home off the inside of the post five minutes before the break.
And Ndiaye could have had a second goal on the stroke of half-time, only to see his close-range shot saved by goalkeeper Freddie Woodman.
Baldock went close to doubling the lead just two minutes after the restart, but his shot flashed wide of Woodman's post.
But it was McBurnie who secured another welcome win on the road when he tapped in from close range directly in front of around 5,000 travelling Blades supporters.
Midfielder Sander Berge pinched the ball off Hughes, who was clattered in the process, but still managed to tee up McBurnie to score.
Substitute Daniel Johnson set up Browne with some trickery, but his left-foot shot was brilliantly saved by Blades goalkeeper Wes Foderingham.
Sean Maguire, another replacement, went down in the box after a strong challenge at the death, but referee Jeremy Simpson turned down the penalty appeal.
Preston's Ryan Lowe: "The result was tough to take, but I thought we played some fantastic stuff. We got done from a long ball at the top end of the pitch. We don't clear our lines and we leave it to a goalscorer, who finds a way to get it into the back of our net.
"We're disappointed because we played a lot of good stuff against the leaders. Once again, we couldn't find that ruthless edge."
Sheffield United's Paul Heckingbottom: "We wanted to be better in the second half than we were in the first. I think our goal woke us up, to be honest. We were lethargic in the first half and weren't aggressive as we normally are. We were second to things and that's what we needed to improve. All of them will be disappointed with the first half, but they were better in the second half.
"There were some people who applied themselves all the way through to the levels that we expect and what we want, but it wasn't a lack of effort, it was more that we didn't show the same intensity in the first half. The best part of the game for us in the first half was the last five minutes. We know we needed to be better in the second half and we were. We were strong in the end, it was a strong away performance."
