For once Blues were on it from the start and always looked dangerous on the break. A bit like the recent Blues stats, Preston had more of everything – possession, shots, corners but in fact that meant little as Blues looked very sharp in their counter-attacks.

Jay Stansfield worked his socks off and Keshi Anderson yet again showed why he should be one of the first names on the team sheet, unlike the clumsy Eiran Cashin.

However, the stars of the show were central defenders Christoph Klarer and Phil Neumann, who completely dominated in the air and on the ground. Behind them, it was definitely a case of Beadle About as he used his height to dominate and also showed his shot-stopping abilities.

Not far behind was the versatile Tomoki Iwata, who was excellent in his multitude of roles whilst Lewis Koumas worked hard but should have made it two after great and persistent work by Stansfield.

Blues then made some well-timed subs to see the game out and both managers had equal claims for possible penalties but somebody needs to tell Paul Heckinbottom that it’s a man’s game.