League

Deepdale
Spectators: 5250 (Terracing: 4250, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Henry Simpson started the match with the kick off. Toby Hough charged in rather forcefully in the 4th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Toby Hough the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. In the 4th minute, Toby Hough hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Grant Blackwell might have been able to make a better finish in the 10th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Zane Prendergast. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Grant Blackwell ran back to his position shaking his head. Zane Prendergast stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Grant Blackwell's shot from short distance in the 12th minute. Zane Prendergast showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Henry Simpson in the 13th minute of the match. When Rupert Hayes fell near the penalty area in the 14th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Preston North End's protests and gave Rupert Hayes a yellow card for diving instead. Rupert Hayes kicked well hit freekick during the 14th minute of the match. 15 minutes into the match, Alton's Sidney Macken broke free and took a long shot that unfortunately flew wide. A fine initiative that could have resulted in a goal. An unexpectedly hard shot by Henry Simpson in the 19th minute of play forced Preston North End's goalkeeper Zane Prendergast to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. When Henry Simpson came up free with the goalie in the 22nd minute, the Alton fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Henry Simpson couldn't finish the play. Iain Myers kicked well hit freekick during the 23rd minute of the match. After having played for 24 minutes, Henry Simpson managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Alton's supporters crossed their fingers, but Henry Simpson was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Gary Flack sent away a hard shot on goal in the 29th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Dale Wilmott fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 31st minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Brendon Prior having to interfere. If Gary Flack had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 33rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. A collision led to Alton getting a freekick after 34 minutes play. Bart Bridgeman hit a great ball. In the 44th minute Henry Simpson shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Zane Prendergast saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Gary Flack made a kick off. Brendon Prior came out of the goal in the 55th minute to try and stop a shot by Preston North End's Dale Wilmott. But to his dismay, Dale Wilmott quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 1-0. 65 minutes into the match, Gary Flack had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Brendon Prior. Alton's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Gary Flack was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 2-0. Brendon Prior made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Gary Flack in the 73rd minute of play. Grant Blackwell received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 78th minute. Zane Prendergast tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. In the 79th match minute, Preston North End was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Iain Myers to maneuver through the defense. After some careless play in the Alton defense, Gary Flack kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Brendon Prior. The Alton fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Brendon Prior should have stopped the shot. If Grant Blackwell had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 92nd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. An unexpectedly hard shot by Henry Simpson in the 94th minute of play forced Preston North End's goalkeeper Zane Prendergast to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Zane Prendergast made an important save on a dangerous shot by Grant Blackwell in the 96th minute.