A wonderful David Nugent solo goal helped Preston end Crystal Palace's FA Cup ambitions in the fourth round for the second consecutive season in front of a sparse crowd at Selhurst Park.

The Coca-Cola Championship rivals met at the same stage of the competition last season with the Lilywhites advancing following a replay.

And it was Nugent's solo effort immediately after the break which transformed this game after Palace had dominated the first half only to be frustrated by some desperate North End defending.

Kelvin Wilson then ensured his team's progression with a late strike to stretch Preston's unbeaten run against their London rivals to eight games.

Preston manager Paul Simpson relegated wantaway goalkeeper Carlo Nash to the substitutes' bench following his midweek request for a move to Fulham, handing Andy Lonergan his first start for North End in almost two years.

Palace applied the early pressure with Clinton Morrison at the centre of most of their forays forward as the hosts probed away at an uncomfortable-looking North End defence.

The home fans found most encouragement from the dead-ball creativity of Mark Kennedy who saw his 14th-minute corner narrowly headed over the crossbar by captain Carl Fletcher.

Palace continued to dominate possession as they camped inside the visitors' half, however, they could not find a clear opening with Fletcher and Kennedy both denied opportunities by some desperate Preston defending.

The visitors were indebted to Lonergan on the half-hour after he made a fine double save to further frustrate the hosts.

James Scowcroft fired in a shot which took a wicked deflection of a Preston defender, forcing Lonergan into a sharp save. Morrison looked set to score when the ball deflected into his path however the Lilywhites' goalkeeper showed tremendous agility to block the striker's goal-bound shot with an outstretched arm.

A minute after the break Preston took an unlikely lead thanks to the trickery of the highly-rated Nugent.

The 21-year-old striker embarked on an eye-catching 40-yard solo run that combined quick footwork with an element of luck as he jinked through the home defence before capitalising on a lucky ricochet off a Palace defender to smash home from an acute angle.

Buoyed by that effort Nugent began to show the talent that has captured the attention of a number of Premiership clubs.

First he played a quick one-two with Michael Ricketts before whipping in a cross that narrowly eluded Chris Sedgwick as the visitors took a firm hold of the game.

Palace were on the backfoot but set about re-capturing their first-half initiative when Fletcher unleashed a thunderous drive which required strong hands from Lonergan to turn the ball away from goal.

Palace continued to toil with substitute Paul Ifill providing moments of creativity but the visitors' defence continued to prove impossible to break down.

And in the 80th minute Preston confirmed their progression to the next round when Palace goalkeeper Scott Flinders failed to deal with a Lewis Neal corner and Wilson pounced at the far post to side-foot the ball into the net.

Preston could have added a third in the shadows of full time when substitute Neil Mellor pushed his effort wide with the goal gaping.

Teams:

Crystal Palace Flinders, Lawrence, Ward, Hudson,Butterfield (Freedman 68), McAnuff, Fletcher, Green (Ifill 56),Kennedy, Scowcroft (Kuqi 67), Morrison.

Subs Not Used: Speroni, Cort.

Preston Lonergan, Alexander, Wilson, Chilvers, Hill,Sedgwick (Whaley 71), Pugh, McKenna, Lewis Neal,Ricketts (Ormerod 79), Nugent (Mellor 87).

Subs Not Used: Nash, St. Ledger.

Booked: Pugh.

Goals: Nugent 46, Wilson 83.

Att: 8,422

Ref: L Probert (Gloucestershire).