Dave Seddon's verdict: Preston North End 3 Huddersfield Town 0 - Clinical PNE find their goal touch

Their 10 league matches before Saturday had seen them find the net just four times, two of those goals in the derby win at Blackburn.

Another had earned a 1-0 victory at Birmingham, the other being a consolation in defeat to Rotherham.

So for North End to rattle in three without reply against the tailspinning Terriers was most welcome, something Alex Neil was keen to allude to when speaking post-match.

The form in 2021 was a worry to him, his concern clear that the squad which changed so much in January had not yet knitted together.

Although it had not exactly drawn them into a relegation scrap, the amount of daylight between them and the bottom few had dimmed.

This win built on the 0-0 draw in midweek with QPR, four points nudging them up the Championship ladder.

There are now 14 points between them and Rotherham who sit 22nd, the gap between Neil’s men and next Saturday’s opponents Bournemouth in sixth place, being nine points.

This was the first time since beating Middlesbrough on December 9 that PNE had scored three in a game.

That was the last time Brad Potts had found the net, a barren spell ended when he scored the opener to start Huddersfield’s downfall.

Ched Evans got the second, netting for the first time since February 6.

The third, and best of the lot, came from Scott Sinclair, the club’s leading marksman last scoring on January 20 to secure the Birmingham win.

Pleasingly at the other end there was a second clean sheet in a row, only the fourth in the calendar year.

That owed much to Daniel Iversen making some good saves in a first half which the visitors had the better off, even though they were to go in at half time trailing.

PNE were better after the interval, far better, and were deserving of the two goals they added on the counter.

It would be fair to say that Huddersfield hate the sight of Deepdale.

This was a 17th visit to the home of football without a win.

They’ve now been beaten 11 times and drawn six since their last victory in these parts more than 51 years ago.

For all that has been made of North End not having the best of times, Huddersfield’s form this year has been rotten to say the least. They have won only once in their last 11 Championship games, eight of those ending in defeat.

Their head coach Carlos Corberan was a whirl of theatrics in a bid to get his side going.

Clad in black chinos, a brown jumper and trainers, the Spaniard covered every inch of the technical area in 90 minutes.

Some of the action he watched from a crouching position, just like Marcelo Bielsa who he worked under at Leeds until last summer.

They are starting to sweat, seven points off third bottom having played two games more.

North End have done the double on them after a 2-1 victory at the John Smith’s Stadium in October, their first this season.

They had to come from behind to win in Yorkshire, caught cold early on by a change of system by Corberan.

It was similar on Saturday, Neil candid enough to admit that he had anticipated a different approach than the one Huddersfield came with. While North End adjusted, the visitors were the better side for the first 15 minutes or so.

Iversen stretched to tip a shot from Isaac Mbenza over the bar, then reacted quickly to come off his line to smother Liam O’Brien’s shot from Duane Holmes’ pass.

Within three minutes of that save from O’Brien, PNE nudged in front.

Evans dropped deep to get possession some 30 yards from goal, sliding a pass through to send Sinclair clear in the box.

Sinclair’s attempt to lift the ball past Ryan Schofield saw the ball come off the keeper’s chest and fall the way of Potts to the right of goal.

Potts drove a low right-foot shot goalwards, the ball going in via Naby Sarr’s attempt to clear off the line.

It must have been a relief for Potts to see it go in, the midfielder a player who does take a greater share of stick from some fans in comparison to others.

His was a man of the match display, a recovery sprint and tackle later in the first half worthy of mention.

Potts went on to hit the bar with a 58th minute shot as North End got a firm footing in the second half and had things much more of their own way than they had in the first.

Him and Evans linked-up several times to good affect in the No.10 and No.9 positions respectively – it was Evans who teed-up Potts’ shot which struck the woodwork.

That double act produced the second goal in the 67th minute, Anthony Gordon winning the ball on half-way and finding Alan Browne.

The skipper’s pass was chased by Potts down the left and reached on the side of the box, his first-time cross finding Evans on the penalty spot – the striker’s shot deflecting off Sarr and past Schofield.

With the comfort of that second goal, North End were content to play on the counter and that brought the third goal with 10 minutes left.

They’ve got previous for scoring on the break and it is something they do well.

Jordan Storey’s clearance out of the box was picked up by Evans who swept a pass out to substitute Tom Barkhuizen on the left-wing.

One touch took him up the pitch, the second with the outside of his right boot went across the box and perfectly into the path of Sinclair who drove home a first-time shot across the keeper.

A decent afternoon’s work from PNE then, Potts and Evans the two stand-outs in an attacking sense, while Greg Cunningham was very good at left-back – that shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Millwall and Bournemouth come next, if the momentum can continue in those it will have been a good few days.

Thanks for reading. If you value what we do and are able to support us, a digital subscription is just £1 per month for the first two months. Try us today by clicking here