The 4 talking points from Preston North End's 3-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday

The win sends North End within three points of Cardiff City in sixth place, with Swansea City also ahead of the Lilywhites by two points.

Here are the four talking points from the clash at Hillsborough.

1. That winning feeling.

The winning feeling is finally back for PNE fans, after five months of waiting.

The last time PNE secured all three points was against Hull City on February 22 when Alan Browne went airborne to score the winning goal.

Since coming out of lockdown, North End have struggled to find their rhythm and found themselves creating very little, and the chances they did create were more than likely squandered.

It looked like that might have been the case in Yorkshire after a fine first half display resulted in plenty of chances but no goals.

That was then compounded as Jacob Murphy slotted the Owls into the lead in the second half - but North End came back.

Jayden Stockley found Scott Sinclair with his flick on who coolly found the net and the comeback began, with two further goals to follow.

The main thing of course is getting three points on the board.

Preston's play-off destiny was in their own hands when they returned to action, it isn't anymore but at least they're back positively working toward that aim.

Though they've now lost ground, points will be dropped before now and the end of the season, you simply cannot predict results in the Championship.

The next two games are almost as tough as they get, Nottingham Forest and Brentford, but the mood now will be much improved, North End also drawing and winning the respective reverse fixtures.

2. Three goals, from three subs, for three points.

All of last night's goals came from the substitute's bench, for that Alex Neil deserves as much credit as stick he gets when it's perceived he doesn't make the right ones or does them at the right time.

Within minutes of their introduction, Stockley and Sinclair combined to draw North End level. Stockley was then on the receiving end of a Daniel Johnson pass (on from the bench) to score the second.

Preston's no.20 was causing havoc again when the ball fell to Brad Potts - on with Johnson in a double change in place of Ben Pearson and Ryan Ledson - who drove forward before finding the bottom corner with a lovely finish.

The subs changed the game and credit to PNE for responding in the way they did.

Stockley was more than the Owls could handle, Sinclair looked lively, Potts was energetic, Johnson made the right decisions and so did Paul Gallagher after his introduction.

There is depth in the PNE squad but they don't always have the desired impact, Neil was quick to point out that it could have quite easily backfired and it wasn't genius on his part, but he certinaly deserves credit for making the right choices at the right time.

3. Central strikers scoring.

Alex Neil ha spoken recently that the shape has not been the issue for forwards not finding the net, however the change to two up top - and two of them scoring - may give him food for thought.

When they came on Stockley and Sinclair operated in a sort of little and large scenario where the latter was just buzzing around waiting for flick ons.

The two linking up so simply and so quickly to find the equaliser makes it all look very easy, but Stockley also finding the room to pull the trigger and score adds to the two up front school of thought.

Had there not been a partner there with him, would he have had just enough time to get the shot away? And without the no.10 backing the pair up does that happen?

They're both speculative questions but they're worth asking. Fans have been crying out for two up top and it bore fruit tonight, though Neil hasn't been entirely against it in the past.

He has generally gone with two up front when chasing the game but not this time.

By starting with two forwards that want to stretch and get in behind, it tired and loosened up the Owls defence for Stockley to come on and make a huge difference.

A goal from the two combining and another made almost by himself from Stockley shows what potential there could be in this system.

4. Three at the back.

North End surprised most people by opting for a three at the back system to match up Sheffield Wednesday.

It largely worked, especially looking at the scoreline, but they limited the Owls to few opportunities and created plenty of their own.

It also saw the return of Jordan Storey for his first start in the league this calendar year, who looked like he'd played every week - aside from one point form which he recovered admirably.

Neil opted with a combative midfield in Alan Browne, Ryan Ledson and Ben Pearson and they won the midfield battle, later the latter two sacrificed for more attack-minded players.

Despite the three at the back and the two central strikers, the most interesting part of it is that in a game that was make or break in keeping play-off hopes alive, at a venue where PNE were without a win in 11 years, Alex Neil went with a formation that they'd worked on for just one day.

They trained with it on the Tuesday and won 3-1 away at Hillsborough with it on the Wednesday.

It bodes well for what could be in that formation, putting extra minutes into last season's young player of the year, offers more license in the forward areas and adds more solidity through the middle.

Although knowing PNE it's just as likely to be gone in the next game as it is to remain.