Former St Johnsone ace Ali McCann made his full debut for new side Preston as they cruised past Cheltenham Town in the Carabao Cup – with his performance impressing home fans.
The 21-year-old played the 90 minutes as North End beat the League One side 4-1 at Deepdale.
It was his first full game since joining from St Johnstone on deadline day for £1.2 million.
The Championship side now go into the pot for the fourth round draw alongside Premier League giants Manchester City and Liverpool.
‘Aspirations to go further’
After the game, McCann told Preston’s in-house media team: “It was a good performance.
🎥 @alimccann01 gives his reaction following tonight’s win on his full debut for the club. 👇 #pnefc pic.twitter.com/7udfwokE7p
— Preston North End FC (@pnefc) September 21, 2021
“A great night to make my first start and a professional performance to put us into the hat for the next round. It’s what we set out to do and we’ve managed to do that.”
“Whoever you get at this stage of the competition should be good. We’ve got aspirations to go even further in the cup, so we’ll just see what happens.”
Fans’ reaction
McCann was instrumental in his sides third goal, fending off three defenders before playing the ball out wide to Joe Rafferty whose cross was turned in by Sean Maguire.
📽️ 𝙊𝙛𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙠… 🎯
A fine turn and finish from @Seani_Maguire_ last night to open his account for the season! 🙌
Highlights to come on iFollow PNE later today.#pnefc pic.twitter.com/MyfSx93fpd
— Preston North End FC (@pnefc) September 22, 2021
McCann had played short cameo appearances from the bench in Preston’s previous three games, but fans got the chance to see their new star in action from the start and were impressed with what they saw.
Posting on Twitter, Kyle Fleming wrote: “He’s the real deal this fella.”
@Connorpne03 rave: “Top, top player him. Has every right to be Gallagher’s successor with his passing ability. One of the best on the pitch. Looks a terrific player.”
While @GentryPNE posted: “I think we have walked into a Harrods sale with a wrong price tag attached somehow to find this gem, seen him a lot for St Johnstone and he will do for me.”
