 |
| Shay McCartan - two more goals |
Having lost there 3-1 earlier in the season in the league, before winning the return 3-2 at Gawthorpe, it was thought that it could be a really tough game for the young Clarets, but it proved not to be as we stormed through to an emphatic victory.
Shay McCartan caused them early problems in the Gawthorpe game and he had a major effect on this game, both at the start and the end. With just five minutes gone he broke into the home box and was fouled, with Steven Hewitt converting the penalty to give us an early lead.
Preston did come back, just past the quarter hour but by half time we'd regained the lead when Adam Evans converted following a Burnley corner.
That lead was doubled on the our when fit again New Zealander Cameron Howieson got on the end of a pass from McCartan to net his first competitive goal for the club and ten minutes later it was all over for Preston when midfielder Archie Love scored from distance with a strike into the corner of the net.
It was just left for leading scorer McCartan to complete the scoring with two late goals. His first was a good one as he nicked the ball over the top of a defender before finishing and then getting some good fortune with the last with some observers believing it might have been an own goal.
It's a fantastic result and now we can get back to league action next week with a home game against Bury.
Burnley lined up today: Josh Cook, Aryn Williams, Jack Errington, Alex Coleman, Luke Conlan, Adam Evans (James Taylor 70), Steven Hewitt, Archie Love, Alex Mullin (Jason Gilchrist 70), Cameron Howieson, Shay McCartan. Subs not used: Callum Jakovlevs, Tom Anderson.