West Bromwich Albion 2 PNE 0

It was more a case of red faces than 'Red Alert' as North End succumbed to defeat at The Hawthorns.

Despite the best efforts of the club and supporters to make it a memorable trip to the Midlands with the red theme, it was a momentary lapse of concentration and a quality strike from a man who was widely linked with Preston this summer that condemned the visitors to a first league reverse of the campain.

It was all the more galling given that second half goals from Kevin Phillips and Ishmael Miller were enough to see off a PNE side that had looked great value for a result in the opening 45.

There was a great pre-match reception for Darren Carter, who received a loud round of applause from the sizeable home support, and North End nearly benefitted from a moment of even greater charity just four minutes in as the onrushing Neil Mellor charged down a kick from keeper Dean Kiely, and with the ball bobbling all over the place, the West Brom custodian did just enough to smother the ball and force the ball to trickle wide off the forward's head.

If Kiely had enjoyed a huge let off in that incident, he was certainly a little more comfortable when it came to PNE's next endeavour forward, with good interplay between Nicholls and Ormerod fashioning another chance
for Mellor - this time a low shot from 18 yards producing a low stop from the ex-Charlton stopper.

For all the money the Baggies have spent in recent weeks, they certainly couldn't find the early fluency produced by the visitors, though their first decent opening was carved from a well-placed slide-rule ball from James Morrison, with Zoltan Gera's low drive forcing a stop from Wayne Henderson.

The November-esque weather of cloudy skies and constant drizzle, combined with an August-quality playing surface with plenty of zip appeared ideally suited to North End's passing game. A much improved performance continued to yield promise when Callum Davidson's deep cross evaded Kiely and forced Paul Robinson to turn the ball narrowly wide of his own post, and Brett Ormerod was the next man to come close as a diving header from Graham Alexander's delivery flew narrowly off target.

It was a continual case of 'so near yet so far' as a double opening presented itself in the 26th minute. Ormerod's flicked header sent Carter clear on goal for the dream return, but Kiely's well spread arms proved equal to the effort. The loose ball only fell as far as Kevin Nicholls, and another near miss soon followed as his 20-yard shot ricocheted off Mellor and looped inches wide of the post.

The Baggies' first genuinely dangerous chance fell to Craig Beattie, who headed straight at Henderson from Jonathan Greening's left wing ball, and moments later the prolific Kevin Phillips tried his luck from distance but didn't match his ambition with any level of accuracy.

Hesitant defending from Leon Barnett nearly proved fatal and Neil Mellor managed to sneak in behind his poor back header, but for all his continual battling, the unfortunate striker couldn'y get enough on the ball to direct it on target.

It seemed that mistakes were the key to producing most openings, with a slip from Graham Alexander on 37 minutes nearly providing the perfect opportunity for Greening to open the scoring, but a wayward swipe ensured that the North End faithful were still waiting to witness the first league goal of the season.

There was a brief moment of panic as an under pressure Youl Mawene was forced to clear over his own bar under pressure from Kevin Phillips with three minutes of the half remaining, but fortunately dominant Henderson collected the resulting corner with aplomb.

The half ended with North End again in an advanced position, with a series of free kicks and corners coming to nothin, but the Baggies made the better re-start with ex-Southampton midfielder Pele driving straight at Henderson and an early flurry of attacks requiring close attention.

A 55th minute corner proved most threatening - with Beattie heading agonisingly wide after redirecting Greening's delivery across the face of goal with a glancing header.

The home side's new found dominance nearly brought a goal on the hour mark, with Craig Beattie the principal threat in a double opening. First, his low ball had to be expertly cut out by Mawene to prevent an easy tap-in for Phillips, then a great save was required from Henderson to keep the striker's effort out after the ball was worked back to him.

Though North End were still giving as good as they got, they were eventually undone by a fine piece of wing play. James Morrison worked his way past Alexander on the greasy surface and whipped a precise ball across the box that Henderson elected not to attack, and Phillips was given free reign to head low into the net from six yards.

WBA immediately replaced both front men with Beattie and Phillips replaced by Nathan Ellington and Ishmael Miller, while North End also introduced a new front line with Karl Hawley and Andy Carroll replacing the starting duo of Mellor and Ormerod. The first of the subs to make an impact was Miller - recently linked with a move to Deepdale - immediately endeared himself to the Hawthorns faithful by showing blistering pace to beat several North End defenders, and he wasted no time with the goal in sight - smashing the ball low past Henderson just six minutes into his Baggies debut.

The goals seemed to take the stuffing out of Preston, but Carroll kept batting away, winning headers and creating openings, including one twisting run from deep that culminated in a slightly disappointing finish as he could only find Kiely's arms from the edge of the area.

After three minutes of fairly uneventful added time, it was all over, and the 1,000-plus travelling fans went home from a very soggy Hawthorns feeling cold, wet and miserable.

WBA: Kiely, Hoefkens, Robinson, Barnett, Albretchtson, Greening, Pele (sub Teixeira 58 mins), Morrison, Gera, Beattie (sub Ellington 66 mins), Phillips (sub Miller 66 mins). Subs not used: Steele, Clement.

PNE: Henderson, Alexander, Davidson, Mawene, St Ledger, Sedgwick, Carter, Nicholls (sub Whaley 76 mins), Pugh, Ormerod (sub Hawley 65 mins), Mellor (sub Carroll 69 mins). Subs not used: Lonergan, Jones.

Referee: M J Jones

Yellow Cards: Sedgwick (35), Carter (77)

Red Cards: None

Attendance: 19,556