Preston North End 4-1 Cheltenham Town: Preston ease past League One opponents
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Andrew Hughes' opener for Preston was his first goal since February 2019
Championship side Preston North End moved into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup with victory over League One Cheltenham Town.
Defender Andrew Hughes powered in a header from Ben Whiteman's corner to put the hosts in front at Deepdale.
Joe Rafferty then bundled in Greg Cunningham's cross before the break.
Cheltenham pulled a goal back through Kyle Vassell's fierce shot, but Sean Maguire and Emil Riis Jakobsen scored late to confirm the win.
Preston were good value for the victory against a Cheltenham side who were in the third round for the first time, although it took until the 82nd minute and Maguire's cool finish to settle any nerves at 3-1.
The only sour note for the hosts was an injury to new signing Connor Wickham.
The former Crystal Palace striker hobbled off after just seven minutes with a knock.
Preston boss Frankie McAvoy:
"I was a little bit concerned about Connor's injury early on.
"We worked on everything yesterday and then you lose one of your players straight away.
"But Sean Maguire has been great for us anyway and he has come on so it didn't disrupt us too much.
"I knew if we got the third goal it would be an easier night for us. But credit to Cheltenham they came and pressed us really really hard in the second half."
Cheltenham manager Michael Duff:
"I am not bothered about the final score.
"I was disappointed with the first half, but really pleased with the second half. The fact we've gone out of the tie doesn't really bother me.
"It wasn't a 4-1 game, but 2-0 down at half-time and we never really laid a glove on them. We didn't compete, didn't get on the ball, or do any part of the game well.
"We tweaked it and I had a bit of a pop at them, but that's a young team."
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