Grayson decided not to tinker too much with his team although at times Preston appeared to be playing without a wideman out right as Gallagher, Johnson and Welsh were compact in midfield as Robinson played wide left.
North End started the better and as usual were the dominant side int he first half. Beckford opened the scoring with a sublime goal. He received the ball in the box, flicked it up, past the defender before slotting hom past the keeper.
Garner added a second shortly after before half time slotting home from clsoe range inside the box. Preston could have had more and after recent performances a two goal lead was always going to mean a nervy second half.
For the most part Preston controlled the game in the second half. The home side who are in desperate need of points to stay up then threw everything forward. After a ball bounced kindly in the box Spencer shot home from close range with under 20 minutes to go.
A frantic period ensued with Notts County piling forward but Preston withstodd the pressure and managed to break. Beckford managed to beat his man and power home a left footed effort in front of the travelling fans to secure the win.
Preston now face Swindon at home who only drew last night and realistically are out of the automatic promotion race. MK Dons remain one point behind as they despatched Doncaster but face a tricky trip to Rochdale who are still chasing the last play off spot.