PNE.Com speak to Aussie defender Shane Cansdell-Sherriff following the 2-0 win over Gillingham
“It’d be nice to be drawn against Leeds as they were first club. It would be a great tie against them, but like I said any of the big boys would be great.”“I’d love to get any of the big boys in the next round. It doesn’t if we draw one of them home or away, it would just be really good to get one.
Ahead of the third round draw tomorrow, Cansdell-Sherriff was eying up a reunion with one of his former clubs.
“It was justice to see the penalty hit the post,” said Cansdell-Sherriff. “It wasn’t a penalty for me. It was a soft one to concede, very soft. It was great to see it hit the post and it gave a little boost at the right time that allowed us get up and get going again.”
Deon Burton missed a penalty minutes into the second half, with Cansdell-Sherriff insisting that justice was done after what he had believed was a very soft decision.
“Lee’s worked hard to get back. He’s done a lot of work on his fitness and done really well to get back as early as he has done. It was great to see him out there.”
“Stucky came back in and had a really good game. He pulled off some great saves, some much need saves at the right time as well. It’s really good can swap and come in and fill in with no trouble between the posts easily.”
Cansdell-Sherriff was full of praise for the returning Thorsten Stuckmann in goal, and was also pleased to see Lee Trundle come on to make his Lilywhites debut late on.
“I don’t mind playing there and I want to play as many games as possible so if that’s where I’m selected that’s where I’ll play.”
“I’ve played at left-back many times during my career so I’m not fussed if I’m chosen to play there or in centre-defence. I’m just happy to play so I’ll play wherever I’m called upon.
“I’ve been working hard on my fitness and trying to get it right to get back to match fitness. Today was a good for me and the game went the right way so happy days
“I found it tough coming back from injury today. It was always going to be tough because it was my first game back but I managed it well enough.
The game marked the 30-year-old’s first game back since he came off injured in the FA Cup First Round against Yeovil Town, and he was delighted to make his comeback after a month on the side-lines.
With Scott Laird ruled out for the rest of the season and David Buchanan also absent, Cansdell-Sherriff completed the full 90-minutes and left-back and said it was a position he would be more than happy to fill in at again.
“It was also really nice to keep a clean sheet. It’s always good to not concede. And it’s just nice to be back out there again.”
that’s exactly what we did.
“We’ve just been talking about it now. It’s something that we all have been wanting to do and today we got the early goal, so we could push forward and put pressure on them. We wanted to catch them out and
“The gaffer’s been saying that we’ve been needing an early goal to kick-start us and to give us something to build on and that’s exactly what happened today thanks to Jeff.
“The early goal was vital today. In recent games we haven’t been prolific enough and we’ve drawn games we really should have won.
“It was a great win today,” said Cansdell-Sherriff. “It was an important game for both us and the fans. The FA Cup is a big event and we want to do as well as we can. Today was a certainly a big step forward.
The win ensured North End ended their run of three games without a win, and the Australian centre-back acknowledged how important the victory was for the Club.
Jeffrey Monakana opened the scoring for the Lilywhites early on in the first, before Stuart Beavon doubled PNE’s lead minutes before the interval.
Shane Cansdell-Sherriff was delighted as Preston North End overcame Gillingham to secure their place in the FA Cup Third Round.