Memory Match: Jon Parkin nets a double in Preston North End's win over Cardiff City in 2010

The Lilywhites were 1-0 up through a Jon Parkin penalty when Paul Coutts was shown a red card.

But the home faithful need not have worried about the numerical disadvantage as Parkin netted a second goal before Coutts had even reached the dressing room to run his early bath.

Substitute Chris Brown took advantage of a mistake from Bluebirds goalkeeper Peter Enckelman to chip a late third.

The 3-0 victory had PNE manager Darren Ferguson purring, Fergie Jnr labelling it the best performance so far of his time in charge.

Such moments were few and far between in his year at the Deepdale helm.

The win came on the back of successive defeats against Derby and Newcastle, easing relegation fears which had crept in.

Fergie said: “Collectively in terms of good football, great finishing and great commitment, I think it was the best performance since I came here.”

North End took a 35th minute when Ross Wallace tried to go past Paul Quinn in the box and was grabbed by the collar by the Cardiff man.

Referee Andy Hall gave a penalty, one which Parkin tucked into the bottom corner with Enckelman going the wrong way.

The game had potential to wing against PNE when Coutts got his marching orders seven minutes into the second half.

His tug on Chris Burke’s shirt earned him a second yellow card, the first before the break being for similar on the same player.

Within two minutes of Coutts walking though, PNE went 2-0 up.

Wallace’s cross from the left reached Sean St Ledger on the far side of the box.

St Ledger guided a header to Parkin who turned superbly and fired a low shot past Enckelman.

“Jon took Cardiff to the cleaners, he absolutely battered them,” observed Ferguson.

“You can see that he is a big lad size-wise, I’m talking about his height but technically he is as good as we have got.

“I think he really enjoyed himself playing up there on his own when we went down to 10 men – it looked that way to me.”

Two goals to the good, Ferguson sent an extra midfielder Darren Carter in place of striker Neil Mellor.

That left Parkin to plough a lone furrow up front.

Parkin was happy to show there was more to his game than some people thought.

“With the size I am, people are going to think I’m just a big battering ram,” said the Beast.

“After more than 300 games if people still think I’m a battering ram, maybe I won’t shake that tag off.”

Parkin departed the action in the 82nd minute, given a deserved breather.

His replacement up front was Brown who found the net for PNE’s third goal within four minutes of coming on.

It was very much a piece of opportunism on Brown’s part, so too a fine finish.

Enckelman came out of the side of his penalty area to make a routine kicked clearance.

He scuffed his kick out to Brown on the right-wing who still had plenty to do.

The substitute took a couple of steps inside and from an acute angle chipped a lovely finish over the retreating keeper and into the net.