waiting at Ewood; he had gone straight there after getting a late release to play. It was as well for Preston he did because he scored both their goals as they defeated Arsenal 2–1; Bernard Joy scored an equaliser for Arsenal after Beattie's first. Finney gave most of the credit to Beattie but both of the goals came from moves in which he was primarily involved. Finney recalled that, for winning the War Cup, each of the Preston players were awarded five wartime savings certificates with a value of fifteen shillings apiece. Having faced Finney twice, the experienced Hapgood said he was "amazed to see a right-winger dribbling so brilliantly with his left foot". 1942–43 season In December 1942, Finney made a guest appearance for Southampton in a 3–1 defeat by Arsenal at The Dell. Service in Egypt and Italy Aged 20, Finney was called up in April 1942 and assigned as a trooper to the Royal Armoured Corps. He was sent to Egypt and served with Montgomery's Eighth Army. When on leave in North Africa, he was able to play for army football teams against local opposition. Many years later, he met the Egyptian film actor Omar Sharif, who told him that as a teenager he had been a substitute for one of the teams Finney played against, but he did not take part in the match. In April 1945, Finney took part in the final offensive at the Battle of the Argenta Gap as a Stuart tank driver with the 9th Lancers. First-class playing career Preston North End League debut League football resumed on Saturday 31 August 1946. Preston were in the First Division and began the new season with a home match against Leeds United. Playing on the right wing, Finney made his debut in a team that included Bill Shankly and Andy Beattie. The crowd was over 25,000 and, on what Finney called "a carnival sort of afternoon", Preston won 3–2. Finney said he was "lucky enough to score one of the goals" and his biographer Paul Agnew cites this as a typical example of Finney's modesty. Newspapers of the day reported that Preston's win was a "one-man show"; that Finney created all their goals; that Leeds would have won but for Finney; and that Finney's goal, Preston's second, was "a brilliant solo effort". Although this match was his league debut, he was by no means