Ten-man Preston secured a derby day victory over Blackpool but had captain Bradley Roscoe sent off in the second half.
The visitors started the game the brighter but Luke Pritchard broke the deadlock just before half-time with Preston’s first effort on target and Eddie Dsane secured the three points with a penalty in the second half.
Roscoe was sent off for Preston after receiving a booking in either half, the first for a heavy tackle on the edge of the box and the second as he tried to make up for a defensive error, but despite losing their captain Preston held on for the win.
Manager Nick Harrison said: “I thought it was a very good performance right from the first whistle.
“I thought we passed it well, we wanted to try and keep the ball a little bit better from the back this week.
“We felt we’d get a lot of joy from that and I thought the players executed that on the pitch really well.
“It was all about us really controlling the game and playing to the tempo that we wanted to.”
Chances were few and far between as both sides looked to retain possession in the opening exchanges.
Blackpool had the first chance of note and they really should have been ahead.
Bright Samuel brought a fine one-on-one save out of Ross Dalton before Henry Cameron hit the loose ball onto the post and Elliot Pond then saw his goal bound header cleared off the line by Sean Whelan.
Preston’s resilience paid off just before half-time as they took the lead.
Clive Smith brought the ball out of defence and as the ball fell to Dsane, his low driven cross was hammered home by Pritchard.
Preston started the second half the better and goal scorer Pritchard forced Miles Boney into good save as the hosts looked to double their advantage.
The resulting corner was swung in from the left-hand side and as Blackpool failed to clear their lines, the referee awarded a penalty for a foul on Dsane as he looked certain to score.
Having been denied a goal from the foul, Dsane confidently stepped up and sent Boney the wrong way to double his side’s lead.
Preston comically almost had a third when Harry Hagon cleared the ball forward from the edge of his own half and with the morning sun in his eyes the Blackpool ‘keeper fumbled a routine save just wide of his goal.
But with Preston looking to see out the game in the final few minutes, Roscoe picked up a second yellow card as he brought down Pond on the edge of the area after trying to make up for a stray pass that saw the Blackpool striker through on goal.
In the end there was not enough time for Blackpool to make their numerical advantage count as Preston held on for the three points.
The result is Preston’s second in succession following the 6-0 thrashing of Morecambe last week and they are unbeaten in their last four games.
Another goal for Pritchard adds to the four that he scored last week, but he knows that the most important thing is the three points.
He said: “It’s always good to score but the main thing is that we’ve won again.
“It was a good performance, it’s always good to get one over your local rivals and it’s another three points that pushes us up the table.”
Pritchard’s goal came at a crucial time for Preston as they had failed to create many clear openings, but going ahead just before the break gave them the platform to push on in the second half.
Harrison said: “To score a goal at any time is great, but to get it just before half-time gives us a lift going into the second half and puts a bit of negativity going their way as well so it’s always a great time to score.
The red card was the only blemish on a good Preston performance as they were clinical going forward and irrepressible at the back.
Harrison said: “Brad just had a bad touch and he’s chasing their lad so you could maybe say it’s a professional foul because he stopped them from scoring, but it’s a shame for him because he’s been doing well in that position.”
PNE XI: Dalton, Smith, Hagon, Hancox, Whelan, Briscoe, AJ Robinson, AJ Robinson, Lunney, Pritchard, Dsane.
Roscoe was sent off for Preston after receiving a booking in either half, the first for a heavy tackle on the edge of the box and the second as he tried to make up for a defensive error, but despite losing their captain Preston held on for the win.
Manager Nick Harrison said: “I thought it was a very good performance right from the first whistle.
“I thought we passed it well, we wanted to try and keep the ball a little bit better from the back this week.
“We felt we’d get a lot of joy from that and I thought the players executed that on the pitch really well.
“It was all about us really controlling the game and playing to the tempo that we wanted to.”
Chances were few and far between as both sides looked to retain possession in the opening exchanges.
Blackpool had the first chance of note and they really should have been ahead.
Bright Samuel brought a fine one-on-one save out of Ross Dalton before Henry Cameron hit the loose ball onto the post and Elliot Pond then saw his goal bound header cleared off the line by Sean Whelan.
Preston’s resilience paid off just before half-time as they took the lead.
Clive Smith brought the ball out of defence and as the ball fell to Dsane, his low driven cross was hammered home by Pritchard.
Preston started the second half the better and goal scorer Pritchard forced Miles Boney into good save as the hosts looked to double their advantage.
The resulting corner was swung in from the left-hand side and as Blackpool failed to clear their lines, the referee awarded a penalty for a foul on Dsane as he looked certain to score.
Having been denied a goal from the foul, Dsane confidently stepped up and sent Boney the wrong way to double his side’s lead.
Preston comically almost had a third when Harry Hagon cleared the ball forward from the edge of his own half and with the morning sun in his eyes the Blackpool ‘keeper fumbled a routine save just wide of his goal.
But with Preston looking to see out the game in the final few minutes, Roscoe picked up a second yellow card as he brought down Pond on the edge of the area after trying to make up for a stray pass that saw the Blackpool striker through on goal.
In the end there was not enough time for Blackpool to make their numerical advantage count as Preston held on for the three points.
The result is Preston’s second in succession following the 6-0 thrashing of Morecambe last week and they are unbeaten in their last four games.
Another goal for Pritchard adds to the four that he scored last week, but he knows that the most important thing is the three points.
He said: “It’s always good to score but the main thing is that we’ve won again.
“It was a good performance, it’s always good to get one over your local rivals and it’s another three points that pushes us up the table.”
Pritchard’s goal came at a crucial time for Preston as they had failed to create many clear openings, but going ahead just before the break gave them the platform to push on in the second half.
Harrison said: “To score a goal at any time is great, but to get it just before half-time gives us a lift going into the second half and puts a bit of negativity going their way as well so it’s always a great time to score.
The red card was the only blemish on a good Preston performance as they were clinical going forward and irrepressible at the back.
Harrison said: “Brad just had a bad touch and he’s chasing their lad so you could maybe say it’s a professional foul because he stopped them from scoring, but it’s a shame for him because he’s been doing well in that position.”
PNE XI: Dalton, Smith, Hagon, Hancox, Whelan, Briscoe, AJ Robinson, AJ Robinson, Lunney, Pritchard, Dsane.