Preston North End kicked off their 2020-21 season with a thorough 4-0 victory over Mansfield Town in the first round of the EFL Cup.
The hosts took the lead through Tom Barkhuizen after 14 minutes and they doubled their lead courtesy of Sean Maguire eight minutes later. Patrick Bauer made it three on 28 minutes and Josh Harrop completed the scoring in the 65th minute to send the Lilywhites into round two.
Story of the game
Preston got off to a strong start as Barkhuizen's delivery found Maguire in the Mansfield penalty area and his header was saved by Stags goalkeeper Marek Stech. In the 12th minute, the visitors were nearly in front as Andy Cook fired a shot that caromed off of the inside of the left upright.
Less than 90 seconds later, the hosts took the lead. Maguire's flick was scooped up by Brad Potts, who fed Barkhuizen on the right and his effort back across goal found the inside of the post in the far corner. The lead was doubled when Harrop sent a weighted ball into the path of Maguire, who collected, controlled and beat Stech.
Potts' header nearly made it three and soon after, Preston did grab a third. Harrop's cross was flicked on by captain Alan Browne and it made its way to Bauer at the back post, who slid home from a very tight angle just before the half-hour mark to put the game out of sight.
Stech had to be alert as the first half drew to a close, saving from Harrop and Josh Earl saw his shot blocked by Mansfield captain Ryan Sweeney. That seemed to give the visitors some life as the second half started as Cook fired over and Corey O'Keefe's cross was punched away by Connor Ripley.
Harrop was rewarded for his fine play all game long as he celebrated his new contract extension in style. After Stech kicked out a leg to save Tom Bayliss' deflected effort, Potts found Barkhuizen close to the Mansfield penalty area and he bulleted one to the Stockport native, who needed just one touch to send one into the top right corner from 12 yards out to make it 4-0.
With the game well in hand, Preston were still attacking in the closing stages as Potts shot over from 20 yards out and Scott Sinclair and Joe Rafferty both saw goalbound efforts deflected as the Lilywhites got off to the perfect start ahead of the new season.
Man of the Match: Josh Harrop
He was involved in the buildup play for Preston's second and third goals and closed the scoring when he found the back of the net. His work with Barkhuizen made the Lilywhites a threat from start to finish and showed why the club signed him to a new three-year deal.
Takeaways
Preston will be delighted to start the new season on a brilliant note
After just missing out on the EFL Championship playoffs last season, the Lilywhites sent a message of intent even if their opponents are three divisions below them. Performances like these should see Alex Neil's side once again challenge at the top end of the Championship table.
Mansfield were poor, but need time to adapt after almost six months out of action
Graham Coughlan has seen ten new faces arrive at the club and the lack of cohesion showed with the Stags boss admitting they weren't ready to get back into competitive action yet, but with the season still two weeks away and no injuries coming out of the contest, Mansfield should be better when they host Tranmere Rovers on September 12th.