But boss Alan Irvine looked far from happy after his side had to fight their way back into the game after a desperately disappointing first half performance.

North End trailed at the break and it took a couple of inspired substitutions by the boss to spark the visitors into life.

Ross Wallace, on for fellow Scot Barry Nicholson, created the equaliser 13 minutes from time with an inch-perfect crossfield pass.

And Karl Hawley, replacing Simon Whaley in attack, gave Preston more of a cutting edge as they went on to the offensive.

Irvine, angered by a series of poor refereeing decisions in the second half, twice threw water bottles to the ground in dismay.

The encounter was the classic game of two halves with Wednesday having the better of the first 45 minutes and North End looking the more dangerous after the break.

The Owls went in front after 21 minutes when keeper Andrew Lonergan failed to get enough on an attempted punch and
was unable to recover his position before Sean McAllister rifled the ball in from the edge of the box.

The home side also squandered two golden chances before the break to put themselves out of reach.

In the second half Chris Sedgwick saved on the line with his chest from Richard Wood's header and then saw a goalbound effort well-saved at the other end by keeper Lee Grant.

Sedgwick and Billy Jones both had shots beaten out in a mad goalmouth scramble after 64 minutes. Then Irvine went ballistic when a rasping drive from Chaplow appeared to be blocked by a defender's arm in front of goal, but referee Mike Russell waved away penalty claims.

Chaplow was guilty of fluffing a great chance on 75 minutes when he pulled wide from 15 yards after being teed up by Sedgwick.

But two minutes later it was all forgotten when Wallace's 40-yard pass picked out Sedgwick on the right of the box and he cut in before laying it across the face of goal for Chaplow to scoop into the roof of the net from close range.

Wednesday dominated the first-half with Tudgay, Johnson and Essajas going close.

Preston started the brighter of the two sides and within a minute Wednesday keeper Lee Grant was forced to punch away a dangerous cross from Sedgwick on the left.

Then Whaley put the ball in the net only to be denied by a harsh offside flag for Neil Mellor, the striker appearing to be legally positioned when the ball was played through.

But after that early spell the home side snatched control and had North End back-pedalling with both Deon Burton and Tudgay causing a few nervous moments in and around the visitors' box before McAllister's opener.

Matt Hill was handed his first appearance of the season as Alan Irvine made just one change to the starting line-up which beat Crystal Palace.

The left-back came in for the injured Callum Davidson as North End travelled to Hillsborough looking to equal their best start for 75 years.

The last time the club opened a season with four straight wins was back in 1933 - and promotion to the top flight followed!

Having beaten Ipswich and Crystal Palace in the Championship, with a Carling Cup vistory over Chesterfield sandwiched in between, North End travelled across the Pennines in good heart to face an injury-ravaged Owls side.

Manager Brian Laws threw loan signing Tony McMahon straight into the fray just 24 hours after joining from Middlesbrough.

Marcus Tudgay and Etienne Esajas both passed fitness tests to play, with striker Deon Burton having to shake off the effects of jet lag and a 90-minute midweek stint for Jamaica in Canada to start the game.

Sheff Wed: Grant, McMahon, Beevers, Wood, Spurr, McAllister, O'Connor, Johnson, Esajas, Tudgay, Burton.

Substitutes: O'Donnell, Gilbert, Watson, Smith, Clarke.

PNE: Lonergan, Jones, Mawene, St Ledger, Hill, Nicholson, Chaplow, McKenna, Sedgwick, Whaley, Mellor.

Substitutes: C Neal, Hart, Hawley, Carter, Wallace.

Referee: Mike Russell (Herts).