Aston Villa’s Andre Green opened his account for Preston last night.
Preston North End boss Alex Neil has told the club’s official website that he thought Andre Green’s first goal for the club was ‘very good’.
The Lilywhites took on Bradford City in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night, just days after beating Wigan Athletic 3-0 in the Championship.
Neil decided to give a first start to winger Green, who joined the club on loan from Aston Villa earlier this month, as he’d only made one substitute appearance before last night.
Green started on the left and got Preston rolling with the opening goal, latching onto Tom Clarke’s cross to score a fine goal, getting in ahead of his full back to score.
A Tom Barkhuizen brace and a deflected Josh Harrop goal sealed Preston’s 4-0 win and a passage into the second round, with plenty of positives from last night’s game.
Neil made 11 changes to his side, and giving Green a first start was key given that he arrived at the club after pre-season, and he’ll be hoping for more first-team football in the weeks and months to come.
Neil has now admitted he thought Green’s goal was ‘very good’, as he showed the ability to get inside his full back and attack the ball, just like recently sold Callum Robinson – ironically, a former Villa winger Green has been signed to replace.
“It was nice to see a wide player getting inside his full back, it’s something we talk about regularly,” said Neil. “Callum used to do it really well, Tommy B [Barkhuizen] does it really well and so it’s nice to see Andre getting in there and getting his goal, it was very good,” he added.
Neil will be hoping to develop that side of Green’s game even more during his season at Deepdale, and whilst Green’s long-term Villa future is a little unclear now, they’ll still be hoping to see him thrive with Preston.
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