Preston should have been behind after thirty seconds when a misplaced back pass player Patterson in only for the striker to round the keeper and blast over from ten yards out.
Preston got the ball down and played good football for a speel culminating in a sweet Nicholson finish which came from a mistake from the Burnley midfield.
In fact all the games goals came from errors and the referee evened things up from last seasons match by giving every 50/50 decision to the home side. In a challeneged where Michael Hart came off the poorer, the right back playing on the left having to go off injured, the free kick naturally went to the home side. Preston failed to close down and Gudjohnson hit home a cracker from thirty yards.
Davidson came on for the injured Hart with the scores level at half time. Brown came on at half time for the ineffective Parkin but yet again a refereeing decision changed the game. Mckenna was tracking back when Mccann appeared to fully throw himself into a dive. The referee fell hook line and sinker. The Preston defence decided to allow Burnley all the space in the world with non existant marking as the home side took the lead.
The game was soon over as Preston gifted the ball away in midfield with Davidson isolated the ball was fired at him from less than five yards away with forty yards remaining to goal. The referee viewed it as a handball and sent the Scot off.
The referee failed to notice various fouls in and around the Burnley box waving everything in the home sides favour. As Preston pushed forward Burnley had three on one as Eagles tucked away.
Both sides gifted theball away at key times and both need to improve to make the top six with Irvine having to re-think as Hart and Davidson are set to be out for some time.