Ryan Lowe said he’s “over the moon” for the Preston North End players and fans after his side won 2-0 away to Cardiff City.
PNE went to Cardiff having not won there since 2017, but goals from Emil Riis and Ben Whiteman in the first half secured three points in South Wales.
With around 500 North End fans having made the long journey down, the gaffer was delighted to send them back to Lancashire with three points.
Ryan said: “I’m over the moon for the lads and the fans who have travelled. It’s another three points and it’s back-to-back wins. The lads have been fantastic of late.
“The first 15 minutes were a little bit ropey. They were trying to get in between us and we were giving the ball away.
“We had that calmness about us actually when we scored the first goal and then the second half was a fantastic team performance by keeping the ball and moving the ball from side to side.
“Teams want you to give the ball away and that’s what we didn’t do. We potentially could have got a third one later in the game, but I’m happy with two goals and three points and a clean sheet, of course. The lads were fantastic.”
It was a cagey opening to the game which saw the hosts having shots from distance, while it wasn’t until PNE had their first shot in the 30th minute, which resulted in the day’s opener.
Riis received the ball down the left and cut inside two men to score his first goal since October 2022, and ten minutes later Ben Whiteman finished off a top team move.
Speaking about the first goal, Ryan said: “I thought the build-up play was excellent, getting him in the grass and getting him one-v-one, and it’s a fantastic strike.
“Then the second one, the build-up down the right-hand side [was great]. I thought the lads were excellent all over the park but at the top end of the pitch you could see that real solidity in the chances we created, and the passes.
“I’m pleased for Emil getting his goal, it’s a great strike and a long time coming.”
💥 Emil is BACK.
— Preston North End FC (@pnefc) February 10, 2024
🇩🇰 Danish duo linking up again. 🔗#pnefc pic.twitter.com/pVKGLN8hbT
The only real negatives to the day was losing both Brad Potts and Alan Browne to injuries in the second half as the pair limped off, but the manager is hopeful there’s not much to worry about.
He said: “Pottsy said he felt his hamstring was tight and Browney’s calf was tight. They’ve been trojans, haven’t they?
“They’ve been working their socks off. They’ve hardly missed any games.
“Al was struggling with his stomach a couple of weeks ago and went out of the team to have a bit of a rest and now he’s back in the team so maybe it’s just a catch up, so we’ll assess them Monday and see how they are.”