Wednesday 27 August 2014 15:16, UK
Aitor Karanka was pleased with his Middlesbrough side as his much-changed line-up gave Preston short shrift in a 3-1 victory in the Capital One Cup.
Jordan Hugill cancelled out Lee Tomlin's opener and after Bradley Fewster restored Boro's lead, Tomlin converted his brace to fire the Teessiders into the third round.
"It was a difficult game, but the most important thing was to win after the match against Sheffield Wednesday," said Spanish coach Karanka, who made six changes from the side that lost 3-2 to the Owls on Saturday.
"When we are playing with the same intensity as the opposition then we can beat them as we are better."
Karanka, who revealed that he is close to finalising a deal for Chelsea striker Patrick Bamford and expects him to be playing for Boro this weekend, also had damning praise for two-goal hero Tomlin, who lit up the Riverside Stadium.
"I know what kind of player he is and I expected more from him last Saturday and I expect more from him this Saturday," he added.
"He can be the difference between our team and the other team. The way he played today - the second half anyway - was in contrast to the way he played against Wednesday.
"Sometimes he is very comfortable and forgets to work for the team. But he needs to work 100 per cent for the team and when he does that he is a very good player."
Despite the defeat, Preston boss Simon Grayson admitted he was proud of his players for matching their Sky Bet Championship opponents for much of the match.
"There were some good performances," he said. "The work rate was good, the shape and discipline were good and we were well and truly in the game.
"I am proud of them as there were four or five lads out there under 21 and they will have learnt so much from that game."
Grayson was irked by referee Mark Haywood's decision to award the free-kick which led to Tomlin's first goal.
He added: "Mark's been big and brave enough to admit he made a wrong decision. He told me in the tunnel it was not a free-kick.
"It changed the game, although we got back into it, as we were comfortable up to that stage."
