Alan Browne proud that Preston North End weathered a storm to earn victory

In tough conditions, the Lilywhites were forced to battle it out with the Championship strugglers and could have easily seen themselves behind before Aston Villa loanee Cameron Archer netted the only goal of the game.

PNE kept in the game until Archer came good for them in the 80th minute, a poor pitch and a windy day make their life much more difficult.

“It was a horrible game from start to finish, there was not one patch of football played, no real moves put together or patterns,” Browne said.

“It was tough because it was the type of pitch where any pass could go astray so to come away with three points we’re just delighted.

“There was a bit of a slope, that’s why we turned them around in the first half, we were hoping it would die down but it probably picked up.

“The conditions overall were horrible. It was like a League One game, being generous.

“The most important thing for us was to come away with a win,. We said at half-time that it wasn’t pretty and we weren’t playing as well as we could have – as long as we got the three points we’d be happy.

“We can have our heads held high after that.

“In the past we might have missed an opportunity there, lacked the creativity or sharpness in front of goal but the form that Cam is in, as soon as he got the ball you knew where it was going.”

Twenty-year-old Archer scored for the third time in six games since joining the club on loan from Premier League Villa, all three of his goals coming in wins.

After receiving the ball from his skipper, Archer checked back on to his left foot on the right-hand side of the box and bent the ball into the far corner. In a game where PNE had spent much of the game playing second fiddle to the home team, he provided a moment of magic and genuine quality to decide the match .

Browne was full of praise for the impact the youngster has had since joining.

He said:“Credit to him, he’s been fantastic since he’s come in and long may it continue.

“We knew it was going to have to be a moment of magic to win the game, so when he got the ball he only had one thing on his mind and that was to go for goal, thankfully it went in and we come away with three points.

“He’s brilliant. I think his all-round game is really good, he’s got the goals to go with it.

“He’s a really good talent and I think he’ll have a bright future in the game.

“We defended it well at the end as well.”