Breakaway goals from Chris Sedgwick and Patrick Agyemang moved Preston into
the Coca-Cola Championship play-off zone with a 2-0 win at struggling Plymouth.
The result will be a bitter pill for the home side to swallow after they
dominated proceedings prior to Sedgwick's opening goal.
Shortly after Akos Buzsaky, making his Plymouth debut after signing from Porto
earlier in the week, struck the crossbar from distance, Sedgwick countered at
break-neck speed to put Preston in control after 29 minutes.
With Plymouth still regrouping, Agyemang put clear water between the two sides
when he capitalised on David Worrell's mistake to make it 2-0 five minutes
later.
Preston, who are now unbeaten in seven league games, were rarely troubled
after the interval as Plymouth could find no way past the Lilywhites'
well-drilled back-four.
And in contrast to jubilant Preston boss Billy Davies, counterpart Bobby
Williamson will be looking anxiously over his shoulder as this defeat leaves
Plymouth only four points clear of the relegation places.
However, it was the home side who were quickly into their stride and almost
took a fifth-minute lead when Keith Lasley's close-range drive was well gathered
by Preston goalkeeper Andy Lonergan.
After enjoying a sustained spell of pressure on the Preston goal, Williamson's
charges came desperately close to scoring when Buzsaky rattled the woodwork with
a 25-yard screamer.
Davies' Preston are made of sterner stuff these days, however, and showed
admirable composure in riding out the storm.
Indeed, the longer the game progressed the more the visitors came out of their
shell and they somehow found themselves 1-0 up shortly before the half-hour mark
- albeit against the run of play.
Sedgwick picked up a loose ball on the edge of Plymouth's area and had time
and space to surge into the box before steering the ball past the helpless
Romain Larrieu.
If Plymouth were unnerved by the setback they must have been shell-shocked by
Preston's second five minutes later.
Worrell showed a lack of awareness and strength to be bustled off the ball by
Agyemang, who made no mistake with a deft finish from close range.
Preston predictably shut up shop after the restart and were quite content to
sit back and defend in numbers.
Plymouth's early vigour was now a distant memory and they were reduced to a
smattering of speculative long-range attempts that failed to trouble Lonergan.
Williamson had seen enough and replaced the tiring Buzsaky with David Friio
and the ineffectual Peter Gilbert with David Norris.
Plymouth improved marginally thereafter, but other than Lasley's drive that
dipped just over the crossbar, they were simply not good enough to get back into
the game as Preston strolled to an easy win.
Teams
Plymouth Larrieu, Worrell, Doumbe, Coughlan,
Gilbert (Norris 66), Gudjonsson, Buzsaky (Friio 64), Lasley,
Capaldi, Evans, Taylor.
Subs Not Used: Keith, Wotton, Aljofree.
Booked: Evans.
Preston Lonergan, Alexander, Mawene, Lucketti, Hill,
Sedgwick (Kozluk 62), O'Neil (Etuhu 75), McKenna, Lewis,
Agyemang (Nugent 72), Cresswell.
Subs Not Used: Ward, Davis.
Booked: Cresswell, McKenna.
Goals: Sedgwick 29, Agyemang 34.
Att: 13,663
Ref: P Joslin (Nottinghamshire).
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