U21S MATCH REPORT: BURNLEY 2-2 PRESTON NORTH END

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Points shared in Premier League Cup

2026-10-09T21:15+01:00

U21S MATCH REPORT: BURNLEY 2-2 PRESTON NORTH END

Points shared in Premier League Cup

2026-10-09T21:15+01:00

Brierley Preston

An action-packed Premier League Cup tie between Burnley and Preston North End’s U21s eventually finished 2-2 on Friday night.

Lluc Castell and substitute Brandon Pouani found the back of the net for the young Clarets at the County Ground in Leyland.

There were five changes to the team that started the victory over Derby County prior to the international break, with Lewis Forshaw returning to keep goal.

Corey King and Emmanuel Airoboma slotted into the defence, while George Brierley took the captain’s armband and Enock Agyei made his first competitive appearance in nearly seven months.

Corey King carries the ball forward under pressure from a North End attacker

Preston arguably started the better of the two sides, with Shay Reid firing over from the edge of the area and later forcing a smart scooped save round the post from Forshaw.

However, Castell showed his quality to open the scoring with a powerful strike past Nuri Latham after beating multiple players.

The lead lasted just five minutes, though, as Reid produced an equally impressive finish into the top right corner from 25 yards.

With the wind and rain now starting to take affect the only real remaining chance of the first half saw Delfim Luwawu’s effort palmed into the path of Destiny Okonkwo, but the striker couldn’t make the right connection on the slide.

Pouani replaced Agyei at half-time and made an immediate impact, rifling a powerful strike into the top right corner from 16 yards with 48 on the clock.

Brandon Pouani now has four goals to his name this season

However, Preston went straight up the other end and restored parity with another quality finish from Nathan Snowball.

Andy Farrell’s second change of the night saw Airoboma make way for Michael Stanley and with Brierley now playing in a more natural midfield role, Burnley started to dominate the ball.

Troy Savage and Braidin Derbyshire then took the places of Ellis Clark and Zach Johnson respectively, before Jiaming Zhang replaced King with 10 minutes to play.

Burnley pushed forwards right to the very end, with Brierley and Castell both shooting over either side of the fourth official's signal for four additional minutes.

A fifth goal of the night wasn’t to come, though, meaning both Lancashire sides now have four points to their name in Premier League Cup Group E.

Next up is a return to Premier League 2 action, with Aston Villa visiting Burnley Training Centre on Saturday 17th October. Kick-off is 1pm.

Burnley: Forshaw, Campbell, King (Zhang 80), Brierley, Airoboma (Stanley 63), Clark (Savage 70), Agyei (Pouani HT), Luwawu, Okonkwo, Castell, Johnson (Derbyshire 70)

Unused Substitutes: Robinson

Preston North End: Latham, Nolan, Snowball, Stringfellow, Irwin, Lescott, Tarry, Whalley (Kamara 83), Ayodele, O’Sullivan (Longson 63), Reid (Morris 77)

Unused Substitutes: Gerrard, Swift, Cameron, Tempest

Goals: Castell 22’, Reid 27’, Pouani 48’, Snowball 49’