The youth team kicked off their EFL North West Youth Alliance campaign for the 2019/20 season by beating Rochdale 5-3 at UCLan Sports Arena.

Ethan Walker had edged the Lilywhites into a half-time lead, but the visitors overturned that opener with two goals of their own handing them the advantage by the hour mark.

However, three PNE goals in the space of five minutes saw the hosts take control of the game once again going into the final quarter of an hour, in which each side exchanged another goal apiece.

Walker was on target once more, with Joe Rodwell-Grant, Ben Dooley and an own goal seeing North End through to take all three points. Lewis Earl captained the team in the season opener.

The youth team have now scored five goals in a match on four occasions this season; in friendlies against Morecambe, Salford City and Grimsby Town and now in this opening league encounter versus Rochdale, too.

The match also marked the return of Hafizul Rahman, who came off the bench for the final eight minutes of the game in what was his first competitive appearance for the youth team in nearly two years.

Hafi suffered a broken leg in an away match against Wigan Athletic in September 2017, in what was only his second appearance as a scholar, having signed as a first year earlier that summer.

The winger returned during pre-season last year but a recurrence of the injury kept him out for the entirety of the 2018/19 campaign as well. He is eligible to play in league matches this season.

Everyone at Preston North End is delighted to see Hafi back in action for the youth team.

PNE line-up: Corcoran; Dooley, Earl, Williams; McFayden; Nolan, McManus (Bennett, 25 (Rahman, 82)); Potts (Huddart, 67), Dolan, Walker; Holland-Wilkinson (Rodwell-Grant, 76). Subs not used: Lombard.