KEEP IT GOING

Robins keeper Max: Win wasn’t pretty but we dug deep and put our bodies on the line

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KEEPER Max O’leary was only too happy to see Bristol City win ugly.

Goals from midfielders Mark Sykes and Sam Bell did the trick as Nigel Pearson’s men claimed their first win at Deepdale since 2011.

Striker Ched Evans’ seventh league goal of the season, just after the hour mark, set up a tense finish as the Lilywhites piled on the pressure for an equaliser.

But O’leary (right) pulled off some smart saves to thwart the hosts.

And he admitted: “It wasn’t pretty, but the result was the only thing that mattered.

“It’s hard at Preston, but we’ve dug deep and got the result we wanted.

“The goal before half-time gave us a real boost, but I made a couple of saves and we held on at the end.”

North End threw everything at the away side, but they stood firm to deservedly claim a first away league win since early December.

Irishman O’leary added: “The boys put their bodies on the line.

“We knew they were going to put the ball in the box a lot and that we were going to be busy. But everyone stood up and held themselves accountable. There was some great defending.

“It was a good all-round performance, we were solid and we pulled it off.”

Sykes slotted into an empty goal after Robbie Brady’s sixth-minute pass left his keeper Freddie Woodman stranded.

And then Bell (above, celebrating) added a second in first-half injurytime for his fourth goal in five games to put the Robins in control.

Evans’ 61st-minute close-range strike gave the home side hope of at least snatching a point, but City chief Pearson insisted: “There’s a real togetherness amongst the players and staff.

“That’s something we need to nurture and hopefully we will get better.”

Defeat for Preston was the fifth at home in a row in the league – and angry boss Ryan Lowe took aim at a “minority” of home supporters who he said subjected him and his players to “vile abuse” on the touchline.

“I get the frustration but I’m not here to be abused. And my players are not here to be abused.

“Our home form is rubbish at the moment, we’re not hiding away from that.

“But we’ve got to stick together and get behind the players to try and take us where we want to get to.”