Preston North End have been knocked out of the totepsort.com League Cup after losing 5-4 on penalties at the QED Stadium.

North End went a goal down in the first half courtesy of Joe Colbeck but it was a fairytale return for Jamie Douglas whose superb 87th minute lob forced the game into penalties.

However, North End fell short in sudden death of the shootout which means that Oldham Athletic now progress to the final to face Leicester City.

North End started the game using the wet conditions to their advantage by zipping the ball across the field from left to right. Captain for the day Neil Dougan, who played 45 minutes at Bamber Bridge the night before, looked to influence proceedings from the beginning from an advanced central position.

Despite the Lilywhites early control on the game, Unsworth's men almost found themselves one goal down in the eighth minute after Colbeck rolled the ball just wide of the post following the wideman's mazy run.

Striker Stephen Elliott was almost played through after this and Will Hayhurst saw his shot from outside the penalty area fly wide in the 15th minute, but Preston were finding it difficult to break down the Oldham defense.

Tom Eaves had a couple of good chances for the visitors both coming around the midway mark in the first half but the striker was unable to put his side in front.

Oldham were then forced into a substitution in the 27th minute with Connor Hughes coming on for Phil McGrath after the left winger went down in front of the corner flag following an innocuous challenge by Neal Trotman.

Chances were few and far between after this but it was Athletic's right winger Colbeck who opened the scoring in the 41st minute with a superb strike. Colbeck, who looked Oldham's most dangerous player, picked the ball up outside of the penalty area and struck the ball right into the top corner. This was the last chance of a half that saw Preston probe the visitor's defense but without any end product from their persistence.

The second half saw a double substitution for North End and one that would have delighted Unsworth and Jamie Hoyland. George Miller and Hayhurst made way for first year scholar Doyle Middleton and first year professional Jamie Douglas. Douglas returned to action for the first time since suffering a cruciate knee ligament injury in the youth team last October.

It was, however, Oldham's half time substitute who made the first impression in the second half but Stephen Henry's low shot was saved expertly.

Following the interval, the game had opened up from the early stages and Middleton almost created the opening goal for North End following his powerful run into the area. Unfortunately for the youngster though, his driven cross was blocked at the front post, putting an end to a promising piece of play.

Preston continued to play on top and were again looking dangerous in advanced positions. Frustratingly for the home bench though, the Lilywhites were unable to find that all decisive final pass following a good spell of passing.

In the 64th minute, thunder, lightning and rain made the conditions tough but Preston almost drew the scores level with the slickest move of the game. Proctor shifted the ball to Douglas on the right hand side, who in turn drove into the area before laying it off to Elliott in the middle. Elliott then laid the ball off to the late arriving Dougan who saw his driven shot blocked superbly by goalkeeper Josh Ollerenshaw.

The heavens had opened and so could have the floodgates for the home side who then came close to equalising twice in a minute. Firstly, Middleton received the ball in space around 35-yards from goal but his shot was headed over and away from danger. From the resulting corner, centre back Bailey Wright found space in the penalty area but the ball dropped agonisingly wide from his diving header.

With less than 20 minutes remaining, this game had the feel of a cup tie and Oldham could have doubled their lead but for the alertness of left back Scott Leather. Eaves found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper before rounding him to put the ball into an empty net. However, Leather dashed across the face of goal to slide in and stop a certain goal.

The treacherous conditions cleared up in the last ten minutes and Richard Chaplow almost caught out Ollerenshaw but his floated shot just dropped over the crossbar. However, the best was saved until the 87th minute when Douglas proved why he has gone professional at Preston.

After being played through, Douglas delicately lobbed the ball over Ollerenton, with the ball skimming the finger tips of the goalkeeper's full-stretched arm and into the gaping net. This late goal forced the game into penalties to decide who will face Leicester in the final of the competition.

Dougan, Douglas, Proctor and Leather all converted their spot kicks but Athletic progressed to the final of the competition. Trotman and Wright were unlucky pair to miss their kicks in a game that saw a dominant North End miss out 5-4 on penalties.