Preston North End fell to their first defeat of the season away at Scunthorpe as the in-form Lilywhites were left frustrated by the dogged hosts' backline in what was a lively encounter at Glanford Park.

The Iron ran out 3-1 winners in a closely fought match. Inevitably all the talk before the match was of Sean St. Ledger, who had gone on loan to Middlesbrough, but it didn't seem to have too much of an adverse effect on the Preston players, who despite going 3-0 down, fought right to the very end as they tried to rescue something from the match.

Grant McCann opened the scoring in the 12th minute from six yards out from Hooper's pass. It was Hooper who added the second just before half time, and a third on 53 minutes after being put through by O'Conner. Jon Parkin made it 3-1 from point blank range on 59 minutes, but despite lots of PNE pressure, they were unable to claw back the deficit.

Alan Irvine continued his rotation policy on Tuesday night, naming five changes to the team that conquered Swansea at the weekend. Youl Mawene returned from injury to captain the side in a defence that was missing Sean St. Ledger. Chris Sedgwick started on the right in place of the injured Paul Parry and Veliche Shumulikoski replaced Darren Carter in the middle of the park. The other two changes were in attack, as the Lilywhites top scorers Chris Brown and Neil Mellor made way for 'The Beast' Jon Parkin and the scorer of Preston's second goal against Swansea, Stephen Elliott.

Scunthorpe manager Nigel Adkins made two changes to the side that won 4-0 at Crystal Palace on Saturday. Striker Gary Hooper came into the side in place of Jonathan Forte, and Grant McCann started in midfielder as Martin Woolford was relegated to the bench. Rob Jones captained Scunthorpe, as they looked to climb out of the bottom half of the table.

Scunthorpe kicked off the match, but started slowly. It wasn't until the fifth minute that the crowd saw the first attempt at goal, and it was Preston's Ross Wallace with it. Unfortunately he hadn't quite found his shooting boots, as his 25 yard shot from the left went over Joe Murphy's goal, to the relief of the home fans.

Saturday's goal scorer Stephen Elliott had the best early chance after a Chris Sedgwick pass split the Iron's defence in the 8th minute. Nolan's run was good, but under pressure from two Scunthorpe defenders, the strikers touch allowed Joe Murphy to collect the ball, just.

At the other end Scunthorpe's players were doing their best to keep the Lilywhites unfamiliar defence on their toes, Mawene clearing several times and Lonergan dealing with McCann's corners well. However on 12 minutes it was Grant McCann that made the breakthrough, slotting home a Gary Hooper cut back, giving the home side a 1-0 lead. Hooper had done well to shake off captain Youl Mawene's attentions and reach the by-line. McCann had the whole goal to aim at and wasn't going to miss from there despite Lonergan's best efforts.

North End tried to muster an immediate response, Billy Jones seeking out Jon Parkin from the right on more than one occasion. However in truth Scunthorpe were the better side early on, keeping the pressure on North End with countless corners swung into the box, albeit with poor delivery. Preston were defending well though, Chilvers using his strength to make sure Hooper wasn't clean through in the 17th minute.

After almost ten minutes of Scunthorpe pressure, Preston won a corner in the 26th minute. Sedgwick had cut inside and looked to find Ross Wallace at the far post, but Rob Jones cleared the danger. Sedgwick and Jones on the right wing were Preston's main outlet as the game crept towards the half hour mark. Scunthorpe closed down well, making Preston work hard to keep possession, and using it well when they won it back.

To the relief of the Preston travelling support of 700, North End's hard work seemed to be paying off, as they began to enjoy their own spell of pressure after 30 minutes. Chaplow saw two long rangers blocked in a period when Scunthorpe seemed unable to get out of their own half.

Ross Wallace was also doing well on the left, being sought out with a long ball over the top by Chilvers in the 32nd minute, only for Spence to relieve him of the ball just when he was cutting inside and looking for a repeat his goal against Ipswich.

Spence did not have the beating of Wallace for long though, in the 38th minute he was well and truly done for pace by the winger, whose left foot cross was dealt with again by the Scunthorpe defence, but not all that convincingly this time.

The spell of Preston pressure was short lived indeed, as in the 42nd minute the home side took a 2-0 lead through Gary Hooper. The warning signs were there just moments before when Hooper and Hayes broke quickly. Hayes slid Hooper in on goal, who then rounded Lonergan but hit his shot against Sedgwick on the line. The danger couldn't properly be clearly though, and after some courageous blocks by Chaplow amongst others in a chaotic box, the ball fell to Iron's number ten Gary Hooper on Lonergan's right hand side. The striker could do little other than score and give Scunthorpe a good lead.

The half ended with a booking for Billy Jones, given for a foul on Scunthorpe midfielder Josh Wright. North End left themselves with a lot of work to do in the second half if they were to get themselves back into this game.

Neither manager felt the need to make any changes for the beginning of the second half, in which Preston continued to look for the runs of Sedgwick, Elliott and Wallace in particular. Alan Irvine clearly feeling that Preston's quality in wide positions could lead to goals.

It was in the 51st minute that the Lilywhites had their first real chance. Wallace's cross from the right finding Elliott, who managed to nod it into the path of Chris Sedgwick. His effort took a deflection off Spence however, and Preston had their first corner of the half.

The bright start from Alan Irvine's men was forgotten in the 53rd minute, as Scunthorpe took a seemingly unassailable 3-0 lead through their lively striker Gary Hooper. Michael O'Connor threaded the ball through the North End defence to Hooper, who managed to poke the ball past Lonergan and into the bottom left corner of the PNE goal.

Despite the score line, the Lilywhite were determined to battle their way back into this game, and in the 59th minute of the match it was 'The Beast' Jon Parkin who hauled PNE back into things. A North End spell of pressure had bore a corner which Wallace took from the right. Scunthorpe failed to deal with it, and after a scramble in the box the ball fell to Parkin at the right hand post. The big man hammered the ball into the roof of the net from two yards out and all of a sudden Scunthorpe had a game on their hands.

Gary Hooper made sure Preston didn't have it easy though, surging through the middle once again, Chilvers was on hand to clear the danger though in the 61st minute.

Sensing a comeback, Scunthorpe resulted to shooting from long range to kill the game off. Josh Wright had the best of the shots in the 65th minute, launching a right foot strike that Lonergan did well not to spill.

Soon after, in the 67th minute, Alan Irvine saw fit to introduce another striker to the game. Chris Brown came on for Ross Wallace, who had started the second half on the right.

The substitution saw Elliott move to the right hand side, and he almost had an immediate impact from there, crossing brilliantly to Richard Chaplow, who saw his header loop into the hands of Joe Murphy in the 69th minute.

Preston's willingness to chase every ball meant that the handbags were out on 71 minutes. Chris Sedgwick went in for a 50-50 with the Scunthorpe keeper, and came out with a yellow card for his troubles after accidentally catching Murphy. Pushing and shoving in the box followed - instigated by the home side - but the referee managed to diffuse the situation.

The second PNE substitution of the night came two minutes later, Saturday's goal scorer Mellor coming on for tonight's goal scorer Jon Parkin.

Scunny dangerman Gary Hooper was at the centre of the action again in the 76th minute, beating the offside trap and trying to round Lonergan. Fortunately Lonergan wasn't about to be beaten three times by the same striker in one night. He did well to get a foot on the ball as the PNE back line cleared the danger allowing Alan Irvine to make his final change of the night, bringing on Darren Carter for Chris Sedgwick on the left.

Preston were really pushing for another goal as the game entered the final ten minutes, Lonergan launching long balls into the Scunthorpe box, but Jones and Mirfin were leading a stubborn defence for the home side. Chaplow and Shumulikoski were scrapping for everything on the edge of the box but were frustrated but increasingly desperate defending.

With five minute left on the clock, substitute Neil Mellor picked the ball up in midfield and ran it down the right flank. He managed to get his cross away, but it was again blocked and cleared by the Iron's defenders, which pretty much summed up Preston's match.

The home side made two substitutions shortly after each other in the 88th and 89th minute. Sam Togwell made way for Matt Sparrow, and O'Connor came off for Cliff Byrne. The fourth official must have taken this into account as four minutes of added time was signalled shortly after.

North End huffed and puffed in the final moments, but the cheers and whistles from the home crowd relentless. The only late chance falling to Chris Brown, his neat flick from the edge of the box was caught easily by Joe Murphy.

Despite the defeat, Preston remain in fourth position in the Championship, having suffered only one defeat in a sensational start to the season. They will be disappointed with the result, as they had good possession, but Scunthorpe defended resolutely, much to North End's frustration and saw out the victory in the end.