A tremendous team effort paved the way for Preston North End's emphatic 3-1 win against Shrewsbury at Springfields.

Tom Smyth broke the deadlock on 15 minutes while Adam Barton and Arran McCarthy tucked away one each in the second half.

For the Lilywhites, it represented their first victory in the Puma Youth Alliance League since January, with all the players proving their talent after producing performances worthy of the man-of-the-match award. The only disappointment was Phil Appiah's post-match red card, issued for two acts of dissent.

It was a lively game and Mike Aspin immediately tried to put Preston ahead with a teasing delivery across the face of goal but no one was able to connect.

However, Smyth made sure North End didn't have to wait too long for a goal and claimed the opener inside a quarter of an hour. Captain Nathan Fairhurst drove forward and played in Smyth who scored his third in as many games.

Preston's lead was short-lived though, as Shrewsbury's Kalum Evitts scored from a 30-yard set piece. Goalkeeper Jack Cudworth could only watch on in despair as the ball sailed into the net following a miscalculation.

The Lilywhites, however, looked inspired rather than caught off guard by the leveller, as Appiah created space for himself to twice try his luck. Smyth also produced a low effort which was saved by the away team's keeper - and skipper - Fasbir Singh.

Smyth then outmuscled two opponents but his shot was off target and Aspin had another go but Singh came out in commanding fashion to claim the ball. At the other end, Cudworth pulled off a terrific double save, as the break approached.

The Shrews put some pressure on PNE following the interval, but Dominic Collins made defending look easy blocking a shot from inside the box.
North End also fielded trialist Lewis Smith from start, and he had no problems gelling with his new colleagues in defence.

As the half continued, Cudworth seized every opportunity to shine and topped his display with a fine one-on-one save.

While the goalkeeper did the job between the sticks, Preston worked hard up front. Arran McCarthy had only been on the pitch for a couple of minutes when he drove forward and released a shot straight into the arms of the keeper.

Adam Barton was unlucky not to get his toes onto on a loose ball moments later, as Singh threw himself towards his left-hand post without claiming the ball. Despite bouncing just in front of Barton, the bounce also proved his undoing as he couldn't quite connect.

However, both players who'd just been denied a goal came out on top soon after, as Barton placed his next chance neatly inside the far post on 71 minutes - assisted by Ray Shearwood - and McCarthy followed closely with an acrobatic shot.

Smyth also drilled a low drive from the edge of the D but the score remained 3-1 as the Shrews were saved by the woodwork.

Unfortunately, that was not all that the game was going to be remembered for, as Phil Appiah received his second yellow card after the final whistle. The midfielder was booked for dissent with half an hour left and then cautioned for a further action of dissent once the game had concluded.

"It has never happened to me before, and I've never even seen it before," a disheartened Appiah told PNE.com, before explaining that the match official took offence after he believed the youngster's post-match applauding of his performance to be a sarcastic gesture.

Head of youth Dean Ramsdale also spoke to PNE.com after the game and said:

"The pitch was shocking and it got progressively worse but I'm pleased that we tried to pass and play the game properly. We talked about wanting to score in the box before the game and the lads showed that desire.

"We were getting a little bit fed up of losing and conceding two and three goals at a time, but it's nice that we created chances. We said at half-time that we had more shots than we have had for quite some time and we kept that pressure going.

"We have been working in training on retaining our shape when out of possession and I thought it looked a lot, lot better. It's a fair result to win by two goals."

Jack Cudworth pulled off a number of fine saves, and that was of great pleasure to Ramsdale, who added:

"Jack has done well. He has worked really hard in training and I'm pleased for him. I think he'll be disappointed with their goal but credit to him for being mentally tough and putting it to one side."

The stopper himself claimed:

"I'm very pleased with my performance but I'd rather have a bad game and win than a good game and lose. It's good to have the two together and luckily I got some good saves when it mattered for the lads."

PNE: Cudworth, Aspin, Shearwood, Smith, Collins, Appiah, A Barton, Fairhurst, Smyth (Rogers 88), Conchie (McCarthy 64), Mainwaring (McGreevey 70).

Bookings: Shearwood (54), Appiah (69); McDowell (51).

Sent off: Appiah (90).

By Frida Larsson.