Preston North End have continued their preparations for a return to the Championship by losing 4-3 to 10-man Carlisle United at Brunton Park.
It was the visitors who made the brighter start, and an entertaining night started with a goal inside 11 minutes as Kyel Reid found the space to deliver a cross which was turned in by Jordan Hugill from close range.
Carlisle responded impressively to quickly find an equaliser as Charlie Wyke's blocked effort fell to Bastien Hery, whose cross was headed home by Tom Miller.
The home side took the lead thanks to Jabo Ibehre and Jason Kennedy as the former pulled back a return pass to allow his teammate to curl past a helpless Jamie Jones.
However, the impressive Hugill created Preston's equaliser just two minutes later as he won the ball on the wing before crossing to give Will Keane, on loan at the club from Manchester United, the simple task of firing home.
Both sides continued to attack for the remainder of the first half, but it was Carlisle who were gifted a chance when Wyke was brought down inside the box, which allowed Danny Grainger to slot in the penalty.
The drama was far from over as Preston were gifted their third of the evening after the break when a misplaced pass from Kennedy allowed Hugill to sprint clear and beat Dan Hanford with a calm finish.
Preston asked more of the questions as the second half progressed and they were handed the advantage when Alexander McQueen, who was sent on by Carlisle boss Keith Curle at the interval, was shown a straight red card for a dangerous challenge on Ben Davies.
Hugill came close to completing his hat-trick just a few moments later, but he miscued his effort wide after being picked out by Davies.
Despite being forced onto the back foot late on, it was Carlisle who were given the opportunity to secure the win when Jones charged off his line to bring down Steven Rigg.
Grainger took on the responsibility once again to fire home the winner from 12 yards as Carlisle caused an upset on a thrilling night.
Callum Mulvihill
