PNE maintained their 100 per cent pre-season record after Jon Parkin continued his fine goalscoring form to see off a vibrant Tranmere Rovers side.

'The Beast' struck either side of half-time to make it four goals from three outings so far this summer, linking up well with Chris Brown to ensure that John Barnes' first game in charge at Prenton Park ended in defeat.

North End could have won by a greater margin had they converted from the penalty spot in the final minute, but the scoreline was a reasonable reflection of the upper hand they held against a young but determined side from the tier below.

There was a familiar ring to much of the North End starting line-up, with the only variants from the side that ended last season noting the absence of skipper Paul McKenna, now all but a Nottingham Forest player, and those carrying niggling injuries.

Those absentees handed the opportunity for Michael Hart and Neal Trotman to once again stake their claim for a place in the first team, while Eddie Nolan had a rare chance to further his progression as a central defender, having performed so well 'out of position' at full-back last season.

Cheered by a small band of travelling North Enders - around 150 or so made the trip to the Wirral - PNE once again gave their striking new red away strip an airing, and seemed to have no trouble picking each other out with some crisp passing from the off.

Tranmere, for their part, looked organised for a side in such a state of transition, and flowing moves in the opening five minutes yielded a free-kick from which Alan Mahon curled wide of target and Chris Shuker later drove straight into Lonergan's arms despite a decent strike from just outside the area.

Full-back Aaron Cresswell also saw a 25-yard free-kick deflected behind for a corner as Tranmere warmed the hearts of their supporters in a lively opening - that set piece creating a chance for youngster Ash Taylor to head towards goal, but Michael Hart - starting as a left-back - was in the right place to clear the ball away for another dead ball delivery.

Andy Lonergan was kept busy as he blocked another low drive from former Blackburn and Burnley star Alan Mahon, with Preston sitting deep for much of the opening 15 minutes, looking to break down the flanks when given the opportunity.

Proving that formula to be the most successful route, PNE worked the ball down their right on 19 minutes, and after patient build-up work had taken the ball from back to front, Billy Jones played the killer ball on Jon Parkin's outside, and he rifled his side's first shot of the afternoon into the top right hand corner from a slight angle, 12 yards from the framework.

The goal suddenly seemed to dent Tranmere's aspirations, and with North End stepping up their control, containing the higher division opponents became of primary importance to the Merseysiders.

A sustained period of pressure meant that Ash Taylor was forced to react quickly to stab the ball away from Chris Sedgwick's outstretched leg in anticipation of a volley from Chris Brown's knock down. 

And, with Rovers having withstood the pressure before looking to break just as Preston had done 11 minutes earlier to great effect, they saw this as their chance to counter - a swift upfield move ending with Mahon's deep cross being smashed home at the far post by the unmarked 19-year-old Terry Gornell.

This sparked an interesting few moments of end-to-end chances - both number nines denied by their opposing keepers as Chris Brown's header and Ian Moore's drive were well stopped - before North End struck three well-blocked efforts in quick succession - two from Parkin's head and one from Sedgwick's boot.

The same two North End attackers then hesitated momentarily under a Wallace cross, and both ended up flicking half chances towards goal, rather than a full-blooded header or volley, and with the very last action of the half, young keeper Joe Collister made a stunning one-handed block to keep out Neal Trotman's header, meaning that the men from Prenton Park were able to head into half-time in a state of parity.

That state of contentment didn't last long - and nor might it for a newly married couple who were presented to the crowd at half-time, given that the groom stood on the bride's dress and almost caused both to tumble onto the lush Preston Park turf in comical fashion.

There had been just a few seconds short of five minutes played in the second half when PNE again used the width to their advantage, Sedgwick and Brown trading passes, allowing the latter to roll the ball into Parkin's path - his shot taking a minimal deflection off Taylor en route to the back of the net.

One of former boss Ronnie Moore's last acts in charge before being replaced by John Barnes was to give his son a new contract, but striker and skipper Ian will have being wishing he was somewhere else when two incidents in quick succession went against him around the hour mark.

First, he was left in a heap after being beaten to an aerial ball by Trotman, with supporters and players alike demanding a penalty for a supposed climb, and then found himself red-faced after smashing the ball wide from point blank range after substitute full back Chris Riley had placed a perfect low path straight into his path.

After a flurry of North End changes, a number of those subs carved out their own penalty appeal, but the referee said no to Neil Mellor's claim for a push after he went down under pressure from Riley; his break into the box the result of neat work from new arrivals Danny Mayor and Karl Hawley.

The changes meant an experimental look to the away side - a front two of Hawley and Mayor being recognisible enough, but the travelling supporters will have been enthused by the chance to see Mayor on the left and Adam Barton given the chance to partner Darren Carter in central midfield.

Tranmere's own replacements played their part, with flying winger Charlie Barnett whipping a ball from the flanks onto the toes of Ryan Fraughan, but the youngster stabbed his shot a ball's width wide of the far post under pressure from Hart, who had switched to the right hand side of the back four after the break; Billy Jones taking up a spot on the left.

Further subs Mark Allott and Craig Curran combined to trouble North End once more with five minutes to go, but the latter could only hit the stantion after being sent clear through a narrow left hand channel.

Having been denied a penalty earlier in the half, Mellor was later awarded a spot kick in the final minute of normal time having been tripped by Ash Taylor en route to goal from Hawley's perfectly weighted through ball from deep. However, he couldn't take the chance to extend the margin as he took the kick himself, Collister capping a fine display by diving low to his left to block, with Michael Hart beating Mellor to the rebound but only succeeding in turning the ball over the bar.

In the end it didn't matter though, with North End edging it in a worthy test of their credentials as they head into the third week of their new season preparations.

Tranmere: Joe Collister, George Abbey, Aaron Cresswell, John Welsh (sub Mark Allott 70), Ash Taylor, Gareth Edds (sub Chris Riley 57), Chris Shuker (sub Charlie Barnett 69), Paul McLaren, Ian Moore (capt, sub Josh Macauley 85), Terry Gornell (sub Craig Curran 57), Alan Mahon (sub Ryan Fraughan 69).

Sub not used: Andy Coughlin.

PNE: Andy Lonergan, Billy Jones, Michael Hart, Eddie Nolan, Neal Trotman, Barry Nicholson (sub Darren Carter 53), Chris Sedgwick (capt), Richard Chaplow (sub Adam Barton 62), Chris Brown (sub Neil Mellor 63), Jon Parkin (sub Danny Mayor 63), Ross Wallace (sub Karl Hawley 63).

Subs not used: Tom Smyth, Dominic Collins, Phil Quirk, Ben Proctor.

Referee: Jon Moss

Match Stats:
Tranmere - shots on target 4, blocked 0, off target 7, headers on target 0, headers off target 3, crosses 9, corners 2, offsides 6.
PNE - shots on target 4, blocked 5, off target 3, headers on target 3, headers off target 3, crosses 16, corners 3, offsides 2.