Preston North End’s unbeaten start to the Sky Bet Championship season came to an end as West Bromwich Albion left Deepdale with a 4-0 victory.
The Baggies went ahead inside five minutes through Darnell Furlong, and Alex Mowatt doubled the visitors’ lead just short of the half-hour mark.
Matt Phillips and Kyle Bartley then scored in the second half to ensure North End suffered a first defeat of the league campaign.
In torrential conditions at Deepdale, the Midlands outfit could have scored even earlier than their fifth-minute opener as Cedric Kipré got on the end of John Swift’s corner, but he headed wide from inside the six-yard box.
West Brom would soon have the lead, though, as a clever flick from John Swift found Phillips who laid the ball off for Furlong, and the defender struck a sweet effort into Freddie Woodman’s bottom corner.
North End’s first effort of the day came 26 minutes in when Alan Browne moved the ball wide for Liam Millar who took it first-time on his right foot, only to see his strike go into the away end behind the goal.
Three minutes later, PNE found themselves two goals down as Jordan Storey failed to clear inside the area, and Mowatt was there to capitalise by finding the far corner.
There were chances for both sides in first-half stoppage-time, with Woodman denying Jed Wallace at one end, while Duane Holmes saw a strike kept out at the other.
Ryan Lowe brought Robbie Brady on at the break and changed shape, but it was the Baggies creating the early chances with Grady Diangana firing over the bar before then having a goal disallowed for offside in the 51st minute.
Phillips was next to come close in the 57th minute as he curled an effort just wide, but he got his goal shortly after an hour when his strike took a big deflection off Storey on its way past Woodman.
PNE had a flurry of efforts in the 71st minute, with both Millar and substitute Ben Whiteman having strikes blocked, before Mads Frøkjær – also used off the bench – fired over from 12 yards.
North End looked like they might have their biggest opportunity of the day soon after as Will Keane, back from injury, raced away and pulled the ball back to Browne, but a recovering defender just got there first.
West Brom got their fourth with three minutes left on the clock as a Jed Wallace free-kick from the right was finished off by Bartley.
PNE line-up: Woodman; Storey, Lindsay, Hughes; Potts, McCann (Brady, 45), Ledson (Whiteman, 63), Millar; Holmes (Frøkjær, 63), Browne; Osmajić (Keane, 64). Subs not used: Cornell, Cunningham, Stewart, Woodburn, Whatmough.
West Brom line-up: Palmer; Kipré, Bartley, Pieters (Townsend, 78); Furlong, Yokuşlu (Molumby, 66), Mowatt, Phillips (Taylor, 85); Diangana (Sarmiento, 66), Swift (Chalobah, 78); Wallace. Subs not used: Griffiths, Thomas-Asante, Fellows, Taylor.
Attendance: 16,658 (2,011 West Brom fans).
Referee: Mr J Smith.