RTG’s totally and utterly (we hope) indispensable guide to this season’s away grounds.
THE OPPO – Preston North End, aka “The Lillywhites”
DATE – Saturday 14 October
KO TIME – 3pm
TICKETS This fixture is now SOLD OUT and no more tickets will be available – SAFC is advising supporters without tickets not to travel to Preston.
THE GROUND – Deepdale, Sir Tom Finney Way, Preston, click here for a map, the red circle in the middle highlights where the ground is, zoom in and out using the controls on the left of the screen.
Deepdale is just to the north of Preston town centre, in the Moor Park area of town and just off the A6063. And it’s not all that far away from HMP Preston if you misbehave.
GOING BY CAR?
Unless you live in north-west England anyway it’s a bit of a pain – travelling from the north-east, you’ve got a choice of routes but you’ve got to cross them thar hills at some point. The A1 down to Pontefract then onto the M62, M61 then M6, OR the A66 and A685 to Tebay then down the M6 to Preston are the most obvious routes unless you fancy a country ramble. Approaching from the south it’s more straightforward but a long hike nonetheless.
Once you’re on the M6, leave at jcn 31 and follow signs for Preston and proceed on up the hill – be warned though, one of the Preston fan-sites highlights this as a stretch favoured by the long arm of the law holding a speed camera, so go easy unless you want a souvenir speed ticket.
When you get to the roundabout overlooked by the Hesketh Arms, turn right onto Blackpool Road – before long you’ll see the floodlights for Deepdale on the left.
You’ll arrive at a major road juntion where you should turn left at the traffic lights, onto Sir Tom Finney Way.
You can park at Moor Park (facing the ground on your right) or there’s limited on-street parking, and some local schools offer secure parking for a couple of quid. If you can’t find a space, head back out of town and use the ‘Soccerbus’ park and ride scheme.
GOING BY TRAIN?
Going there: The 0924 Northern Rail service from Newcastle gets you to Carlisle at 1049, then you change for the 1108 Virgin Trains service which gets you into Preston at 1217. If you want to go a bit later, the 1029 GNER service gets you to Carlisle at 1158, then change for the 1213 Virgin service to Preston which arrives at 1322.
Go to the National Rail website to see what trains are available for that day.
Leave the station and walk up the hill and turn right at the main road, cross the station approach road and you’re onto a road called Fishergate. Walk along Fishergate then downhill along Church Street until you reach the junction with the ring road. Cross the ring road and turn left onto Deepdale Road; after 5-10 mins walk it becomes Sir Tom Finney Way, and the ground’s on your right. If you can’t be arsed to walk, you can get a taxi outside the station and the journey to the ground will set you back about a fiver.
Getting back: The 1725 Virgin train gets you to Carlisle at 1843, then change for the 1917 GNER service which gets back to Newcastle at 2042. Or the 1744 Northern Rail service to York arrives there at 2018, then change for the 2036 Virgin service which gets into Newcastle at 2142.
SCRAN AND BOOZE
The Sumners welcomes both sets of supporters – you’ll find it by walking past the stadium up Sir Tom Finney Way, straight on at the lights and you’ll see a Sainsburys on the right; carry on up that hill, pass the garage and The Sumners pub is on the right, or The Garrison, opposite. There’s also the White Hart on Watling Road, about 500 metres away from The Garrison.
The ‘Toy Soldier’ pub, previously used by a lot of away supporters, is no longer there. It’s not recommended that you drink in the town centre pubs as police are usually quick to move away supporters on, or you won’t get served.
As at the SoL, Preston North End run their own catering services inside the ground, with the usual array of pies, burgers, drinks etc on offer.
STOPPING OVER?
Travelodge, New Hall Lane, Preston – tel 0870 191 1650
Premier Travel Inn, Lostock Lane, Bamber Bridge – tel 0870 990 6462
Holiday Inn Express, Lostock Lane, Bamber Bridge – tel 0870 400 9022
Tickled Trout Hotel, Preston New Rd – tel 0845 456 6399
LEND US A FIVER…
The Halifax have a cash machine at the ground itself or there’s a Co-Op Bank machine within the Co-Op store on Harewood Road, not far from the ground. At the Sainsburys we mentioned earlier, there are Abbey National, Royal Bank of Scotland and Sainsburys Bank cash machines, so no shortage of places to get at your dosh.
LAST SEASON
Final league position – 4th of 24 with 80 points (made the playoffs)
THIS SEASON
Currently 4th of 24 with 17 points.
P10 W4 D5 L1 F11 A8 Pts 17 GD 3
HOME FORM
P5 W3 D2 L0 F5 A2 Pts 11 GD 3
HEAD TO HEAD
Preston and Sunderland have met 104 times in league matches and we’ve won 45 of those; Preston have won 29, with 30 draws.
LAST EIGHT MEETINGS
01/01/05 Preston 3, Lads 2 (Elliott 72, Thornton 81)
18/09/04 Lads 3, Preston 1 (Elliott 27, 25; Carter 45)
10/03/04 Lads 3, Preston 3 (Mears og, Thornton 70, Stewart 84(p))
23/08/03 Preston 0, Lads 2 (Thornton 4, Stewart 41)
23/08/95 Lads 3, Preston 2 (Howey (2), Kidd) – league cup
15/08/95 Preston 1, Lads 1 (Angell) – league cup
13/02/88 Preston 2, Lads 2 – old Div III
28/12/87 Lads 1, Preston 1 – old Div III
TRIVIA
Deepdale is also home to the National Football Museum, which is always worth a visit if you arrive with time to spare before kickoff.
Credits: PNE official website, ‘WTJOTP’ (PNE fansite), Rough Guide to English Football, Soccerbase, www.multimap.co.uk, National Rail, Virgin Trains.