Preston North End have carved out a 1-0 lead at managerless Fulham thanks to an early header from Joe Garner.

The visitors almost drew first blood following a lively opening when Eoin Doyle let fly from distance with a powerful drive that Joe Lewis could only parry.

That early warning went unheeded and Fulham found themselves behind in the 10th minute as an unmarked Garner headed in at the back post.

Ross McCormack proved a handful for the Preston defence in the first half, but Fulham struggled to provide him with decent service as Preston threw bodies back to thwart their advance.

The hosts came closest to an equaliser on the half-hour mark when Moussa Dembele pulled the trigger from just outside the box, but his curling effort was met by a finger-tip save from Jason Pickford.

However, Preston should have taken as two goal lead into the break as Doyle missed the target with a close-range header just minutes before the referee's whistle.