Hugill left out but Preston cruise to Forest win
PRESTON made light of top scorer Jordan Hugill’s absence with an impressive 3-0 Sky Bet Championship victory over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
Hugill has been linked with both Crystal Palace and Leeds ahead of today’s transfer deadline and was left out of the matchday squad.
But Billy Bodin’s first goal for the club since arriving from Bristol Rovers and second-half efforts from Tom Barkhuizen and Daniel Johnson gave Preston a deserved victory and keeps them in touch with the play-off places.
Forest, meanwhile, followed a tepid FA Cup exit at Hull with another uninspiring display, despite manager Aitor Karanka making several changes to his side.
Preston manager Alex Neil made changes of his own, most notably omitting Hugill but also handing Declan Rudd a first league start in goal for the club at the expense of Chris Maxwell.
The club released a brief statement on Twitter explaining Hugill’s absence, denying any deal regarding his exit had been completed.
The statement read: “We can confirm Jordan Hugill was available for selection this evening, but given recent speculation regarding his future the manager decided a team fully focused on the game was what would be needed for the match.”
Ikechi Anya had a late goal ruled out as a frustrated Derby were denied a winner in a scrappy 0-0 draw against Millwall at the Den.
Birmingham climbed out of the relegation zone for the first time in two months after a comprehensive win over drop rivals Sunderland.
Goals from David Davis, Jeremie Boga and Sam Gallagher earned Steve Cotterill’s side a deserved 3-1 victory at St Andrew’s.
Jon Dadi Bodvarsson scored a brace to ease the pressure on Reading manager Jaap Stam as the Royals ended their eight-game winless run in the Championship with a 3-1 victory at bottom of the table Burton Albion.