Ched Evans netted a second-half brace as Preston North End beat fellow promotion hopefuls Blackburn Rovers to move within two points of rivals Lancashire.
Evans’ side effort within two minutes of the restart added to Ben Woodburn’s composed one-on-one finish in the first half to put the visitors in control.
Bradley Dack’s close-range strike gave brief hope of a Rovers response in bitterly cold and snowy Ewood Park.
But the 4,000 traveling supporters weren’t nervous for long as Evans headed home with a delightful cross from Greg Cunningham before Ben Whiteman struck a fourth to all but settled the game with 25 minutes remaining.
Whiteman’s deflected strike was the signal for the home fans to leave Ewood in droves after an abject derby performance in which they failed to match Preston’s desire, energy and ability to play in the conditions .
Rovers had won six in the home rotation and would have climbed to second place in the table before the afternoon kick-off, but were beaten and outclassed.
After losing the nine league games in which they conceded the first, Rovers could ill afford a slow start, but an early injury to midfielder Callum Brittain seemed to disrupt their pace and they found themselves falling behind after only 15 minutes.
A deft move saw Ryan Ledson pounce on a loose ball and he found Evans, whose lovely through pass was deftly finished off by Woodburn.
Rovers began to threaten towards the end of the first half, with top scorer Ben Brereton Diaz having an optimistic shout for an overlooked penalty after a good run and Dack’s header forcing a decent save from goalkeeper Freddie Woodman.
Despite the slight improvement, Preston remained sharper and more aggressive and their willingness to press and disrupt Blackburn’s pace quickly paid off.
Woodburn won possession as Blackburn lingered at the back and he played into Daniel Johnson and Evans converted the neat takedown.
Former Liverpool youngster Woodburn had a great chance to score a third for Evans soon after, but eagerly opted to shoot and his effort was blocked.
In the end, that waste didn’t matter, although Dack’s goal from Brereton Diaz’s pass after a brilliant run and cross from Hayden Carter created a little doubt.
Evans jumped impressively to head a quality header low into the net from Cunningham’s inviting left wing center to make it 3-1.
And Whiteman then ran over Johnson’s exquisite flick to score the fourth away goal and send Preston down to fourth in the table after their biggest win at Ewood in 63 years.
