Preston North End 2 v 0 Crystal Palace

Coca-Cola Championship

GOING into this game on the back of a four-month unbeaten run Preston were always likely to be a team high on confidence.

And so it proved as they largely dominated the opening exchanges with striker David Nugent - who missed the weekend FA Cup tie through suspension - particularly prominent.

Everton manager David Moyes reportedly bid £4m in an attempt to secure his services and it was easy to see why as the England under-21 international was at the forefront of most of Preston's attacks.

In a rare excursion out of their own half the Eagles won a corner after Jobi McAnuff's long-range effort had been deflected wide by an outstretched Preston boot.

Michael Hughes' out-swinger subsequently caused chaos in the Preston penalty box but the ball was hacked to safety before Fitz Hall - deployed as an emergency full-back in the continued absence of Danny Butterfield - could pounce.

At the other end it was Nugent who was again probing and when Carlo Nash's long clearance was flicked on by strike partner Brett Ormerod he got the better of Tom Soares - legally, in the view of the referee Mr Ilderton - before firing in a shot which was well saved by Kiraly.

Palace had been warned but they failed to heed it and on 15 minutes the Lillywhites deservedly took the lead thanks to a defensive mix-up between Mikele Leigertwood and Emmerson Boyce.

Debutant Ormerod was the beneficiary of the confusion, toe-poking a left-footed shot past the exposed Kiraly to register his first goal in the white of Preston.

Five minutes later the former Saint almost doubled his tally prodding a left-footed shot goalwards which Kiraly did well to punch clear.

At this point Palace were being overwhelmed, though in fairness to the travelling support they were doing their bit to rally the troops with a rousing display.

Buoyed by the vocal encouragement Palace poured forward through Boyce who exchanged a one-two with Johnson before firing a speculative shot high over Nash's bar.

In truth the strike belied Boyce's lack of goalscoring ability but it was a sign of intent nonetheless.

As Palace began to claw their way back into the game Johnson came to the fore, troubling the Preston back-line who resorted to means fair and foul in their efforts to stop him.

From one Michael Hughes free-kick Morrison was afforded the freedom of the Preston penalty area but to his surpise he skied his volley horribly.

Fortunately, a late flag had been raised to spare his blushes.

Moments later the Republic of Ireland man had the chance to redeem himself following more good work by the busy Johnson but instead shot straight at Nash.

By now, Palace should have been level if not better. As the half drew to a close they continued to push forward but failed to score the equaliser their late pressure had perhaps merited.

Four minutes after the re-start Preston doubled their advantage through Gary O'Neil, who was granted the freedom of the Palace penalty box to guide a header past Kiraly and so score his second goal against Palace in the space of three days.

It was a sucker punch and Palace took their time to recover but when they did it was through a familiar face as Johnson fired in a low drive which Nash did well to hang onto.

Johnson again probed moments later but was snuffed out by the impressive Youl Mawene.

Preston's defensive record this year has been sound and it was easy to see why. Palace's task, which had looked onerous enough, was starting to resemble an ascent of Mount Everest.

As time slipped away Iain Dowie went for broke and threw former Preston striker Jon Macken, Dougie Freedman and Marco Reich into the fray.

Billy Davies responded by introducing another defender in the form of Chris Lucketti and with his added aerial ability Preston appeared capable of repelling anything and everything Palace threw at them.

The lively Patrick Agyemang was also sent on and caused Palace further problems as the Deepdale clock ticked down to zero.

The man-of-the-match was announced as Calum Davidson, plying his trade in midfield, but in truth any of Preston's four defenders would have been more worthy winners.

For Palace, Johnson was perhaps the stand-out candidate on what was overall a fairly disappointing evening for Dowie's troops.

The 2-0 defeat brought to a close the Eagles' nine-game unbeaten run while at the same time enhancing Preston's play-off prospects.

MATCH FACTS: PALACE: Kiraly; Hall; Hudson; Ward; Boyce (Freedman, 70); Soares; Leigertwood; Hughes; McAnuff (Reich, 61); Morrison (Macken, 70); Johnson.

SUBS NOT USED: Riihilahti; Speroni.

Att: 13,867 With thanks to Crystal Palace FC