That’s 10 goals for the season, for Sean Maguire, and he is flying it.
Maguire scored his sixth goal in eight Preston games, on Tuesday, to help his Championship playoff-chasing side to a 3-1 win over Leeds.
The 23-year-old now has 10 goals and three assists in 17 starts since joining Preston last summer. Given the fact that he missed three months of the season with injury, that is a decent return for the former Cork City forward.
Maguire got the all important second goal in the 53rd minute, against Leeds, and he got on the end of a tasty Paul Gallagher cross. Leeds began to wildly appeal that play should have been stopped as their defender Pontus Jansson was down clutching his head in the box but the goal stood.
Leeds, in fact, had two players down injured in the lead up to the goal but Maguire was not waiting around and nodded home. It was then up to the match officials and they were happy that he had scored a legitimate goal.
Fellow Ireland international Alan Browne wrapped up the game with 10 minutes to go and the 3-1 victory keeps Preston in touch with the teams in the playoff places. Naturally enough, given the importance of the second Preston goal, Maguire’s strike came up for post-match debate.
Leeds boss Paul Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Leeds:
“The big turning point obviously was the second goal. It got stopped in the first half, exactly the same thing, so yeah it should have been stopped. The worst thing is then how it leaves us.”
Preston boss Alex Neil was in no doubt that Maguire’s goal should have stood and went so far as to question the professionalism of the Leeds defender.
Neil – showing an acute lack of understanding on the nature of concussion – told reporters:
“I understand that completely, but see, having looked at it back, the ball must be really, really heavy because all he’s done is header the ball…
“His defender headers the ball and then has a wee look and thinks, ‘Oh, we’re under a bit of pressure’, then falls down in the middle of the box.”
It is worth noting that the game was stopped for several minutes as Jansson was treated for his knock. A stretcher was brought on for the Swede but he eventually made his way off the pitch with the help of a physio and did not return.
