Revenge was sweet for Preston as they reversed last season's Turf Moor scoreline to record their first away win of the season against nine-man Burnley in an absolute thriller.

Referee Lee Mason left the ground to a chorus of boos from the home fans after a controversial afternoon of football which saw Chris McCann and Joey Gudjonsson dismissed and goals from Chris Sedgwick, Neil Mellor and Simon Whaley winning the game.

It was rough justice on a Burnley side who gave it their all, but there was no chance of taking this one away from an inspired Preston side thoroughly deserving of the three points based on the quality of their attacking vigour.

Burnley's striking quality was evident from as early as the second minute when Robbie Blake slipped the ball through Liam Chilvers' legs and jinked his way round Billy Jones before unleashing a powerful shot from the edge of the box that Andy Lonergan did well to push away to his right.

Though Kyle Lafferty struck a powerful return shot on the rebound, Matt Hill did well to block the ball on the line and cleared it to safety. The hosts were adamant that Hill had used his arm in keeping the ball out, but even allowing for our inevitable North End bias it was hard to see the ball having struck anything other than his chest.

Paul Gallagher, Simon Whaley and Neil Mellor all looked to counter with low driven shots, but none possessed the venom required to beat Gabor Kiraly in the hosts' goal.

Likewise, a flying effort from Callum Davidson lacked any need for a save as it flew over the top, but Preston's next attacking manouevre was of superior quality.

Gallagher got the move off to a pacy start with a strong surge from within his own half, and a forward ball to Whaley was quickly threaded into the path of Mellor. Though his angled shot squirmed wide of target, it came agonisingly close from striking Lafferty on the way through - a connection that could have turned the ball into the Clarets' net.

Another great burst forward saw Mellor and Gallagher denied in quick succession after Whaley was again involved in the build up - Gallagher's fierce drive from 22 yards forcing a fingertip save from Kiraly to turn it away for a corner.

In spite of the attacking promise shown by the visitors, it was the home side that took the lead on the half hour when Kyle Lafferty met Wade Elliott's right flank delivery with his head after a flick from Robbie Blake.

Laffety's header looped over Sean St Ledger who couldn't prevent the ball from finding the top right corner despite attempting to stretch for the shot, and the baying home crowd had got the goal they craved.

It could have been two when Burnley countered again ten minutes later after another sustained spell of pressure at the right end that just couldn't yield the chance Preston were looking for.

Instead, when Simon Whaley was dispossessed on the edge of the home penalty area trying to create an opening from a set piece, Robbie Blake charged forwards to create a three-on-one break, and it took another goalbound block from Matt Hill to keep out Elliott's low strike after Blake had sent him in the clear beyond the reach of Lonergan.

It proved crucial as North End got the goal they deserved to level matter a minute before half-time. As the yellow shirts piled forwards, St Ledger surged from deep and fed the ball to Mellor in a narrow left channel. His low ball across the box carved the defence open perfectly - Chris Sedgwick meeting the ball at the far post to slot it hard and low under Kiraly from 10 yards.

The half-time parity was a fair reflection of a half that North End arguably shaded, but how the second half was to pan out was partially determined by two midfield changes for the second period. Joey Gudjonsson replaced Alan Mahon for the hosts before the re-start, while captain Paul McKenna made way for Darren Carter after appearing to struggle with a knock he picked up in a heavy challenge during the first period.

The change didn't appear to cause North End any immediate detriment, with Gallagher striking two shots narrowly wide of target as Burnley too lost a player through injury in the form of influential goalscorer Lafferty.

Within a minute of his departure, PNE had the lead, as Davidson's header placed it beyond the backline and Mellor raced past the last defender to thump the ball hard and low beyond Kiraly's reach from eight yards.

The North End rejuvenation continued apace when Whaley left former team mate Graham Alexander for dead and looked to have struck a third for North End with a fierced angled effort, but it turned out to be an optical illusion as the ball rippled the side netting.

Burnley immediately wasted a good chance to equalise when Elliott swung in a sweet cross from the right hand side, only for Lafferty's replacement Steve Jones to head back across the face of goal and wide of the far post when a goal beckoned.

Instead, the leveller came just moments later as the game ticked into its 62nd minute. The visitors were caught cold by Jon Harley's superbly-weighted ball down the left flank - again given a helping hand by Blake en route - and Chris McCann met it on the edge of the box to find the bottom corner of Lonergan's goal with his left foot.

Despite the predictably harsh winter chill over Turf Moor, the atmosphere became increasingly heated. The game followed suit.

A succession of lunging tackles around the North End box brought the tension level to boiling point, and an over-committed challenge from Chris McCann - two-footed on St Ledger over the top of the ball - received an immediate straight red card as a scuffle broke out alongside the prone Preston defender.

The home crowd seemed to need little reason to further vent their frustration, but they immediately turned on referee Lee Mason as the extra space began to benefit the away side.

Sedgwick went on the lookout for a second, only to see his shot blocked by Kiraly, before Alan Irvine opted to replace Billy Jones after 75 minutes of his comeback - Youl Mawene arriving as his replacement.

Paul Gallagher - the man at the heart of everything great about the away side's attacking play - so nearly produced a thunderbolt that could have won the game.

Receiving a lay off from Neil Mellor, he steadied himself before launching an audacious effort from 25 yards. The power in the shot from a near-standing start was astonishing - and even more so was the fact that the ball struck the underside of the bar, bounced down and somehow bobbled to safety. It was an incident similar to Geoff Hurst's famous 1966 goal, and one that the press box would have loved to see again on the big screen as it looked amazingly close to having crossed the line.

It didn't matter though. From an almost identical position, Simon Whaley - a man who had just been announced as being replaced by Lewis Neal over the PA only for Irvine to withdraw the change - launched a hard, low shot into Kiraly's bottom corner after receiving a square ball from Carter when the home defence had only half-cleared their lines. An absolute stunner.

It came seven minutes from the end of normal time, and it sent the North End fans wild.

They should have been celebrating again three minutes from time when Mellor sent sub Karl Hawley clear just moments after his introduction, but his weak strike was held by Kiraly. The Hungarian keeper immediately launched the ball back upfield, only to find his opposite number Lonergan in inspired form to block Andy Gray's snapshot which looked destined to level the game once again.

Lonergan staked a claim for a man of the match award with another superb stop on the cusp of the five added minutes of stoppage time. Carter tripped Unsworth 25 yards from goal, and the veteran Chorley-born defender dusted himself down to hammer the free kick towards the top corner of the goal.

The keeper's fingertip save turned it away for a corner, and Matt Hill proved defensive saviour for the third time when he cleared O'Connor's header off the line from Gudjonsson's resulting corner.

The manic nature of the game was perfectly summed up by the 94th minute dismissal of Joey Gudjonsson for a stamp on Neil Mellor. At first glance, the incident looked nothing more than a mis-timed collision from substitute Steve Jones on the North End forward near the corner flag, but the referee once again chose to brandish his red card with closer inspection of the challenge indicating an off-the-ball raking of Mellor's chest by the Icelandic international. Unsightly scenes followed, with several members of the Burnley coaching staff rushing on to join in the melee, but it proved the perfect time-killer for North End.

By the time order had been restored, the clock had all but ticked away, and the scenes of joy as the full-time whistle blew on Preston's first away win of the season were a sight to behold.

Burnley: Kiraly, Alexander, Jordan, Unsworth, Harley, Elliott, McCann (sub O'Connor 68), Mahon (sub Gudjonsson 46), Lafferty (sub Jones 55), Blake, Gray. Subs not used: Jensen, Akinbiyi.

PNE: Lonergan, Jones (sub Mawene 75), Chivers, St Ledger, Hill, Sedgwick, McKenna (sub Carter 48), Davidson, Whaley, Gallagher (sub Hawley 86), Mellor. Subs not used: Chris Neal, Lewis Neal.

Booked: Mellor (31); Blake (67)

Sent off: McCann (65), Gudjonsson (90)