Preston pinch point to provide welcome respite

A resolute defensive display saw Preston collect a priceless point against a Carlisle outfit unbeaten in 15 at home and almost eradicated any lingering thoughts of relegation which is at least one positive as there were sections of the fans who were getting nervous that there could be a late season squabble to stay up

On the whole, with the odd exception, performances have been on the up and a deserved draw at Carlisle epitomises that. But although performances have been generally improving it is important not to get ahead of ourselves and think that we can go unbeaten until May or anything like that. On another day Carlisle could have won 1-0 had they taken their chances, but it could have also been 1-0 to Preston as the away team created some very good chances. Most notably Graham Cummins, who would have been really disappointed to have failed to score when but one on one with Adam Collin. Chris Holroyd also went close with a 25 yarder which was very well saved by the Carlisle stopper. Thorsten Stuckmann also had an excellent game in the Preston net to ensure that he kept his 10th clean sheet in only his 24th game for the club, considering Preston's defensive record in recent times that is a phenomenal record and over a season that works out at 19 clean sheets in a season. Considering the club record is 24 and we've only kept 15 clean sheets in 2009/10 and 2010/11 combined, this shows the massive influence the big German has had and if we had signed him in the summer we would certainly have been a top 6 now and pushing for promotion back into the Championship.

 The emergence of the second generation of youth players in recent weeks has been a massive success with yesterday night being no exception, apart from possibly Danny Devine who was subsituted after half an hour to ensure that he wouldn't be sent off which was a wise decision by Westley. Bailey Wright continues to be a revelation in defence as he was the stand out performer in a very solid and assured back 4, having started the game at left back, he moved into the centre after Ehmer came on for his debut to slot in in that position and he himself played solidly considering he hasn't played much in recent weeks. The defensive solidarity shown last night against a team where only 2 teams before the game had managed to stop Carlisle scoring shows that at least Westleys defensive improvements have worked as now we have only conceded 12 goals in the 12 games that he has been at the club and that includes 6 clean sheets which in itself works out as 23 over a season which would match the club record. If we can start hitting the net on a regular basis we would fire up the league.

Mad March continues on Saturday as local rivals Bury make the short trip north to Deepdale with the home side looking to avenge the tame 1-0 defeat at Gigg Lane in November where the doubts about Phil Browns ability started to creep in and he was sacked only a month or so after. Bury have been in very poor form in recent weeks with 0 wins in 12. With games like Sheffield Wednesday and MK Dons coming up in the next few wins this is the best chance to get a good solid home win to continue the gradual climb up the table and at least gain some respectability from this season with a top half finish which would provide some momentum going into a hopeful promotion push next season.