Preston 1-1 Fulham (16-15 on Penalties): Ryan Ledson Shines as Preston Win Epic Carabao Cup Shoot-out
Preston North End defeated Premier League team Fulham in an unprecedented penalty shootout, winning 16–15 following a 1–1 draw in the third round of the Carabao Cup 2024.
With a crucial penalty kick from Ryan Ledson, the Championship team advanced to the fourth round.
Following Ledson’s opening goal being cancelled out by Reiss Nelson to end the match at one, both sides were unrelenting from the penalty spot, with all 16 of their attempts reaching the net.
Before the scoring commenced and players started taking their second shots, Kaine Kesler-Hayden and Jorge Cuenca both had shots saved.
Then, at 15-15, to the jubilant Deepdale supporters, Timothy Castagne bounded over and Ledson sent Steven Benda the wrong way as the hosts won a record-tying League Cup shoot-out.
Ledson, who isn’t exactly known for his goal-scoring antics, scored a beautiful volley in the 35th minute to make it two goals in two cup games this season.
Just after the hour mark, Arsenal loanee Nelson, a former Tottenham winger Ryan Sessegnon’s center, equalized in his debut start for the Cottagers.
Paul Heckingbottom and Marco Silva both made significant changes to their teams, and after 12 minutes, Stefan Thordarson of North End came dangerously close with a rasping long-range shot.
In the 20th minute, Benda brilliantly parried Kesler-Hayden’s close-range header from Mads Frokjaer’s cross, giving the hosts a far better chance.
A few minutes later, Liam Lindsay pushed himself in front of Harrison Reed’s effort to prevent Preston from scoring when he strolled on to a ball across the penalty box from Sessegnon.
As the half-hour mark drew near, the visitors increased the pressure and Kesler-Hayden made up for his earlier blunder by imitating teammate Lindsay and valiantly sliding to block a goalbound attempt, this time from Sessegnon.
But after a shoddy clearing by Reed, Ledson struck a beautiful 20-yard volley into the bottom corner to give the home team the lead. However, Silva’s team had a ton of Premier League talent, and the Cottagers began to capitalize on that talent in the second half.
Reed set the bar with a fierce 20-yard attempt just before the hour, and Rodrigo Muniz’s follow-up attempt required Freddie Woodman to be on his toes. That served as a warning of things to come when Nelson scored the equalizer in the 61st minute by darting in at the front post.
Then, with Fulham looking to cap off a beautiful piece of play, Harry Wilson looked to score, but Woodman made a fantastic save at the near post in the 70th minute. Wilson is a former Liverpool player.
Raul Jimenez, Emile Smith Rowe, and Alex Iwobi’s entrances served as a sobering reminder of the challenges Preston faced, and they met them head-on.
Preston boss Paul Heckingbottom, stated:
“As the game progressed, the effort and dedication put in to get to penalties made me more motivated to win it—eight-all, nine-all.
“During the injury time, we were the team attempting to move the game to penalties.
I’ve never taken part in a shootout like that before. It’s also the longest in the tournament, I’ve been told. There was a wonderful vibe. We had to put the draw on hold for the time being since we have more important things to attend to.”
Heckingbottom continued, “They had their moments throughout the game itself. Freddie (Woodman) performed admirably once more, but the group in front of him once again provided excellent cover. We had our moments, but three times in the first half it was desperate defense.
We had less and less in the second half as the match went on. Fulham was really skillful with the ball and gave us some trouble, but we were prepared to handle it.”
Fulham boss Marco Silva, stated:
“I believe Ryan Sessegnon is becoming better. He is improving. He played a pretty strong game. He maintained his poise from the opening to the closing minutes. [The pitch] is constantly up and down. robust on defense, and we all know that he is capable of making excellent decisions.
“It wasn’t only the objective. He made the majority of the attacking decisions that we created, so naturally, we should be happy for him.
“He’s going to be a really valuable member of our team. He is already excellent, but he will only get better. We are all aware of his qualities, therefore it’s critical that he get the proper confidence.”
Silva continued, “We took control of the game from the first minute onward, and I believe we created enough opportunities to score more goals.” That is the current state of affairs.”
