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 6 January
KO TIME – 3pm
TICKETS Tickets are on general sale at £20 for adults, £13 for over 65’s, £13 for 16-17 year olds and £7 for under 16’s
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 0930 Northern Rail service from Sunderland gets you to Newcastle just before 10am; change for the 1024 Northern Rail service to Carlisle which arrives at 1142, then one more change – you need the 1213 Virgin Trains service which arrives in Preston just before 1330, leaving you time for a pint before the game.
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 1740 Virgin train gets you to Carlisle at 1853, then change for the 1933 Northern Rail service will get you back to Newcastle at 2100.
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.
CUP FORM LAST SEASON
R3 : Preston 2 Crewe 1
R4 : Preston 1 Crystal Palace 1
R4r: Crystal Palace 1 Preston 2
R5 : Preston 0 Middlesbrough 2
HOME FORM THIS SEASON (ALL COMPS)
P14 W9 D4 L1 F24 A8 Pts 31 GD 16
HEAD TO HEAD
Preston and Sunderland have met only eight times in the FA Cup – of those, Sunderland have won seven, and there’s been one draw.
LAST EIGHT MEETINGS
30/12/06 Lads 0, Preston 1
14/10/06 Preston 4, Lads 1 (Varga 56)
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)
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.
