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Attendance: 20,418
Stoke logo
Championship | Gameweek 32
Feb 12, 2020 at 8pm UK
 
Preston North End logo

0-2

FT(HT: 0-0)
Browne (58'), Barkhuizen (75')

Preston North End close in on automatic promotion places with win at Stoke City

Preston North End close in on automatic promotion places with win at Stoke City
© Reuters
Alex Neil's first visit to the Bet365 Stadium since spurning Stoke's advances earlier in the season proved to be a positive one.

Alan Browne and Tom Barkhuizen were on target as promotion-chasing Preston secured a 2-0 Sky Bet Championship win at Stoke.

Preston boss Alex Neil's first visit to the Bet365 Stadium since spurning Stoke's advances earlier in the season proved to be a positive one as his side closed the gap on the automatic places to three points.

Stoke have improved under Michael O'Neill's guidance since their public pursuit of former Norwich boss Neil but will need to be more clinical going forward in order to remain clear of the relegation places.

Preston dominated possession in the opening stages but neither side threatened to break the deadlock until the 25th minute, when James McClean laid the ball off for Sam Clucas, whose low effort from 20 yards was cleared off the line by Lilywhites defender Ben Davies.

Two minutes later Tyrese Campbell cut in from the right and curled an effort towards the top corner, only for Preston goalkeeper Declan Rudd to deny him with an outstanding full-stretch save.

A minute later Campbell and Nick Powell were crowded out from Tommy Smith's low cross and Rudd clawed away a Danny Batth header from Smith's free-kick after 34 minutes as the hosts finished the first half strongly.

Stoke remained dominant after the interval and Campbell should have opened the scoring after 56 minutes. Clucas' free-kick was headed down by Batth and Campbell's shot on the turn from 12 yards flashed inches wide of the post.

Instead Preston went ahead two minutes later with their first shot on target. Johnson's corner ricocheted off Davies and Browne reacted fastest to poke home from inside the six-yard box.

Moments later Darnell Fisher's foul on Nick Powell sparked a mass brawl, with McClean and Ben Pearson booked for their roles in the chaos.

Substitute Sam Vokes headed straight at Rudd as the hosts pressed for an equaliser, while at the other end Barkhuizen was denied by Jack Butland.

But Barkhuizen doubled Preston's lead 15 minutes from time, with Davies' aerial presence again causing problems as he nodded Paul Gallagher's cross down for the former Morecambe forward to stroke home.

Stoke huffed and puffed in the closing stages but were unable to find a way through a well-drilled North End defence.

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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sunderland139222391429
2Leeds UnitedLeeds137512281426
3Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd138321661025
4Burnley136521761123
5Watford137152221122
6West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom13562148621
7Millwall135441612419
8Blackburn RoversBlackburn135441614219
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10Norwich CityNorwich134632318518
11Middlesbrough135351415-118
12Swansea CitySwansea13445109116
13Coventry CityCoventry134361717015
14Derby CountyDerby134361617-115
15Hull City133641517-215
16Stoke CityStoke134361518-315
17Cardiff CityCardiff134361319-615
18Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds134361524-915
19Oxford UnitedOxford Utd133551617-114
20Preston North EndPreston133551420-614
21Luton TownLuton133371521-612
22Plymouth ArgylePlymouth133371325-1212
23Queens Park RangersQPR131751119-810
24Portsmouth131661326-139


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