PNE Retro: When Ricardo Fuller's hat-trick sunk Burnley

Just five days before Christmas Preston North End and Burnley played out an eight-goal thriller in the second tier.

Ricardo Fuller ended the day with a stunning hat-trick, his first in English football, as PNE were pegged back three times before sealing a memorable derby win.

Eddie Lewis and David Healy were also on target for Craig Brown’s Lilywhites.

Jonathan Gould made a superb save to keep out a 17th minute effort from Richard Chaplow before Preston went straight down the other end and took the lead.

Fuller escaped down the left flank, survived David May’s challenge and then cut in before beating Brian Jensen with a shot into the far corner.

The lead lasted just seven minutes, however, with Ian Moore on target, converting the rebound after Gould had kept out Chaplow’s initial shot.

Amazingly for a match containing eight goals, it took until the hour mark before the third one came along. After that it was sheer mayhem.

It was North End who got their noses back in front, Fuller getting to the byline and setting up Lewis, the American winger clipping the ball in at the second 
attempt.

Lead number two lasted a mere four minutes, however.

Richard Cresswell gave away a needless free-kick out on the left and Robbie Blake curled the ball into the Preston box, where Arthur Gnohere got a touch to send it beyond Gould and into the net.

May headed against the home crossbar and Gould had to make a stunning save from Moore before Preston got in front a third time on 71 minutes.

Sub Healy charged down the right, bent a cross in behind the Clarets back four and, with Cresswell failing to make contact sliding in, the ball reached Fuller on the far side of goal and he lashed a shot high into the net.

Seven minutes later Burnley were level for a third time, this time from the penalty spot.

Marlon Broomes, at fault for missing a high ball into the box, upended Blake in a desperate bid to recover and the Burnley top scorer did the rest from 12 yards.

Preston had a penalty appeal waved away when May appeared to upend Fuller before Gould pulled off another stunning one-handed save to keep out Glen Little’s effort.

Once more Preston responded by going down the other end to score.

Sub Pawel Abbott slipped the ball through for Fuller to race clear and find the bottom right corner with a cracking shot from outside the box.

North End made sure there was no fourth comeback with a fifth, although not before Healy had missed a simple-looking chance when he rounded the keeper and blazed wide.

All that was forgotten in the 88th minute when Fuller won the ball on the halfway line, found Healy with a crossfield pass and he hammered in a low shot which squirmed between Jensen and the foot of the post.