North End left it late to break the hearts of their old friends from Barnsley as once again the second half effort secured victory for the Lilywhites.
Leading early on from Richard Chaplow's side-footed opener, many inside Deepdale felt a rout was in the offing as PNE bossed their Yorkshire opponents, but it took an 88th minute scorcher from Sean St. Ledger to win it after Jamal Campbell-Ryce had surprisingly levelled matters for the under the kosh visitors.
Harsh as it was on Barnsley, there was little doubting that North End were the more composed of the two sides, and ultimately their battling spirit earned them another highly valuable three points.
Alan Irvine kept faith with the same 16 that performed so admirably against Blackpool at the start of the week but the game commenced at a slower pace than that memorable seaside afternoon.
Good passing and movement from both sides meant for an aesthetically pleasing start if nothing else, with Ross Wallace starting to provide the entertainment value with a pair of ambitious strikes towards the target as the ten minute mark approached.
Jon Macken was the first to show some promise with his shooting boots, as one of the many ex-North Enders in the Tykes' ranks flashed a couple of shots over the bar, but a deflected Neil Mellor shot from the edge of the box came closer, forcing Heinz Muller into a spilt but ultimately successful block.
Mellor then saw another low shot blocked en route to goal by centre half Hugo Colace, as Chris Sedgwick's cross was worked back into the striker's path via the head of Chris Brown. Wallace was then up-ended as Barnsley only half cleared, the Scotman firing the resulting 20th minute free-kick over the wall but into Muller's hands.
It was a warning sign to the Yorkshiremen that they didn't read, as North End's persistence paid off within a minute thanks to the game's opening goal.
Paul McKenna's vision provided a ball for Mellor to chase towards the touchline, but to most onlookers it looked to be heading out of play. Centre half Dennis Souza thought likewise, but determination and strength helped Mellor to hold of his man on the dead ball line, and once the referee had waved 'play on' the striker rolled a perfect ball into the path of Chaplow - the 16/1 shot for first goalscorer, who didn't need to be asked twice to convert from ten yards.
Wallace's 25-yard set piece - the result of a Diego Leon trip on the lively figure of Billy Jones - failed to provide the second as it cleared both wall and bar, but a lovely touch from the same man, via his heel, presented a chance for Callum Davidson to fire a stinger towards Muller's goal; only a deflection off Stephen Foster preventing it from forcing the German into a last ditch save.
Chaplow came within millimetres of a second as he drove oh so close to the target, but despite control of possession and chances, North End were pegged back to parity with a shot from distance on 33 minutes.
Jamal Campbell-Ryce didn't appear to be in a threatening position as he took possession 25 yards from goal, but after steadying himself and spotting an opening, he squirmed a shot between both centre halves, Sean St. Ledger and Wayne Brown, and his pacy strike bobbled its way into the very bottom left corner of the target he was facing.
It came as something of a shock, and seemed to kill off the remainder of the half as a spectacle. Leon curled a shot just wide of the stantion with five minutes still to play, but that was pretty much the sum total of the remaining first half action as the sun set over Deepdale.
The PNE faithful rested their hopes on a similarly rousing second half comeback - a la Norwich and Blackpool - and within a few minutes the slick football was back, Chaplow and St. Ledger composing a lovely one-two, with the former latching onto a return pass and giving it a 'right good thump' from 25 yards to bring the best out of Muller.
Barnsley themselves showed they had something to offer, with a buoyant Campbell-Ryce launching a pot-shot from distance as his side played towards their own fans in the Kop, but Andy Lonergan produced an inch perfect save to tip the ball onto the post and ultimately away to safety in true picture book fashion.
Skipper Miguel Mostto should have done an awful lot better when the game's next chance fell his way on the volley, but he instead scared his own supporters at the back of the stand with a rifled effort that would have cleared a crossbar twice as high.
North End had to play the second period without Wallace, who had been forced from the action at the interval, but replacement Barry Nicholson showed a similar eye for a killer pass when he sent Mellor away down the right. The leading scorer had Robert Kozluk all but beaten for pace on his Deepdale return, but the former loanee got back to apply just enough pressure on the shot, narrowing the angle and giving Muller a chance to block with his legs.
Kozluk again made a key contribution as Sedgwick looked to have regained the lead with a stunning shot. Nicholson's deep cross was met by the Yorkshireman on the volley as he crept in from his new left-sided position, but the Yorkshiremen survived as Kozluk cleared off the line with a diving header once all others were beaten by the strike's vicious accuracy.
A number of players found their way into the referee's notebook as pace began to reign supreme as the game got stretched, with Davidson, Sedgwick and Colace all cautioned for tactical last-ditch lunges on breaking opponents.
Sub Martin Devaney offered a new outlet for the visitors and his left footed cross carved out a chance for Macken which Lonergan held, and seeing the impact he made in a wide position, Irvine also tinkered with his wings, sending on Stephen Elliott for Sedgwick and adopting a flexible 4-3-3 formation.
PNE went for broke with Parkin also replacing Chris Brown for the final 11 minutes, and the move almost paid off instantly when he spun on the edge of the box and sent a left-footed shot just wide of the top left corner of Muller's goal.
The game looked set to peter out into a frustrating draw with everything still level with just two minutes remaining, but Sean St. Ledger took matters into his own hands with a superb strike of his own creation.
Picking up the ball just inside his opponents' half, Ledge saw the space in front of him open up invitingly, and with his run taking him into shooting distance, he let fly with a looping 22-yard shot that was too good for the stranded Muller, who could only watch the ball loop over his head and into the Town End net.
North End's rapturous followers felt as though they'd won it at the death, and after withstanding a nerby four minutes of stoppage time in which Wayne Brown blocked from Kayode Odejayi and Jamal Campbell-Ryce, they were proved right.
PNE: Lonergan, Jones, St. Ledger, W Brown, Davidson, Sedgwick (sub Elliott 72), McKenna (capt), Chaplow, Wallace (sub Nicholson 46), Mellor, C Brown (sub Parkin 79). Subs not used: C Neal, Mawene.
Booked: Davidson, Sedgwick.
Barnsley: Muller, Kozluk, Odejayi, Colace, Leon (sub Coulson 90), Souza, Macken, Campbell-Ryce, Mostto (capt, sub Devaney 64), Foster, Hassell. Subs not used: El Haimour, Van Homoet, Rigters.
Booked: Leon, Colace, Hassell.
Referee: Andy Hall
