Hume at the double

After what has seemed like an eternity, Preston got their second victory under Graham Westley with a 2-1 victory over Exeter on Saturday afternoon. Two goals from Iain Hume either side of Leri Sercombe to give the visitors a badly needed three points and move the Lilywhites onto 45 points and just short of safety.

Iain Hume scored his first goals since returning from injury to show why Preston have badly missed him as it was the first time Preston have scored more than one goal in a game since the 3-2 victory over Wycombe back in January which was David Unsworth and Graham Alexanders last game in charge as caretaker managers. By all admissions however (including his) he was far from his best during the first half, despite giving the away team the lead with a close range finish to put Preston 1-0 up. After a rollocking from Westley at half time he came out a much better player and orchestrated the forward line which ended in a winning goal with just 6 minutes to go when he ran onto a flick on, rounded the keeper and fired home to give the away team the points. It was also our first away win since the 1-0 away win at MK Dons all the way back in December, a game which was also on the 17th.

It was a win which Preston deserved and in the first half we could easily have been multiple goals up and it was a shock to everybody when Exeter equalised after half time when Sercombe fired home from 25 yards. This took the wind out of Prestons sails but eventually we were able to put the game to bed thanks to some effective route one football that ended in Hume putting the ball into an empty net. It would be fair to say that our attacking movement is getting better week by week, but there is still a lot of improvement to come as there were several wasted chances that for a while looked as if they would cost us 2 points but thankfully this wasn't the case and hopefully this can be built on tomorrow night.

In recent weeks, players like George Miller, Bailey Wright and Danny Devine have been given their chance by Westley and they have taken this chance with both hands. Devine continues to look a rock in central defence and has only had one poor performance in the last few months which is understandable given how old he is and the lack of experience he has had, but he has a lot of potential and could be the next St.Ledger. Given that he is a centre back, it is very surprising how well young Bailey Wright has done at left back, looking at his performances you would have thought he was a natural who has played in the position for a while and this level of performance at such a young age is pleasing to see and with Wright performing so well at left back it means that Paul Parry can be able to play at left midfield were both he and the team are more effective as a result. With Steven Smith still recovering from injury, Wright has shown that he is more than capable of being a deputy at left back during this time.

Tomorrow night, the hectic March continues with a trip up to Brunton Park to play Carlisle United. Despite Carlisle being nearly 90 miles north of Preston, this is a game which is viewed by the home fans as their big derby fixture and one which in the past has had trouble with the fans and tomorrow night possibly won't be an exception. It wouldn't be wrong to say that this is definitely one of the biggest one sided rivalries in the Football League as most Preston fans don't view Carlisle in the way that they view us. But with Carlisle on the fringes of the Play Offs it will not be an easy game but one or three points tomorrow night would represent a job well done and would almost certainly put to bed any lingering relegation fears and would mean Graham Westley would have less pressure on him continuing the Preston revolution