Rovers celebrate cut 2/8

PRESTON 0

ROVERS 1

Dickov

ANOTHER victory and another clean sheet.

But Graeme Souness probably left Deepdale with more questions than answers on Saturday night after Paul Dickov's second goal for his new club finally settled this neighbourly dispute in Blackburn's favour.

Rovers' pre-season record now reads played six, won six and in 460 minutes of football this summer they have yet to concede a goal - an impressive statistic given the defensive failings of last season.

However, with the big kick-off less than a fortnight away, Souness still has plenty to ponder before finally settling on his starting 11 to face West Brom on the opening day of the season.

For instance, are Lorenzo Amoruso and Nissa Johansson a secure enough pairing in the centre of defence?

Who will partner Barry Ferguson in midfield out of Dominic Matteo, Tugay and Garry Flitcroft?

And is there a place in this side for the mercurial Dwight Yorke, who once again showed flashes of his talent during his second full work-out of the week?

All those questions need answering before the Baggies descend on Ewood in 12 days' time but it was difficult to get many pointers here on an afternoon of confused messages.

Another clean sheet would suggest Rovers have solved their problems at the back but in truth Amoruso's partnership with Johansson looked anything but water-tight against an average First Division strike-force.

The decision to experiment with a midfield diamond also provided several pluses and minuses.

With Yorke operating at its tip, the former Manchester United striker gave the North End defence plenty to think about with his clever movement and vision in a lively first half performance.

On the downside, there was a noticeable lack of width when Rovers were attacking at times which can make the formation restrictive.

Nevertheless, Souness has more options at his disposal than he had at this stage last year and he has two more chances to experiment before the serious stuff starts in earnest.

"We're a fair way away from making any definitive decisions on what the team will be (to face West Brom)," admitted Souness's assistant, Alan Murray.

"We've got a good, strong squad, we're playing a number of games but the game to get picked for is on August 14.

"We're two weeks away, we've still got a bit to do yet but we got a test today and that was the object of the exercise."

Before the game, a statue of North End legend Tom Finney - called 'The Splash' - was unveiled.

But once the action started, it was Amoruso and Johansson who looked in danger of floundering in a nervy first half, although Amoruso nearly made his mark at the other end with a rasping volley that thudded against Andrew Lonergan's right-hand post.

A minute later, however, Lonergan was beaten.

Jonathan Stead turned past a defender on the edge of the box and fired in a low shot which the North End keeper could only parry to Dickov who clipped a cute finish into the roof of the net from close range.

Moments later, the Rovers strike duo combined again only for Marlon Broomes to get back and make a timely intervention as Dickov prepared to steer home Stead's cross at the far post.

North End should have equalised in the 51st minute. A dreadful mix-up between Amoruso and Johansson left Simon Lynch with a simple chance but the Preston substitute blazed wastefully wide.

As the game became increasingly disjointed, Stead raced away down the left but instead of squaring for Dickov, he opted to shoot and Lonergan saved comfortably.

Lynch was then left kicking himself again after passing up another golden chance to equalise in the closing stages.

Steven Reid stood on the ball, leaving the North End forward one-on-one with Peter Enckelman, but his over-ambitious chip sailed tamely over the bar.

PRESTON: Lonergan, Skora, Lucketti, Mawene, Broomes, Smith, McKenna, O'Neil, Etuhu, Cresswell, Healy. Subs: Smith (for McKenna, 37), Lynch (for Healy, 46), Davis (for Lucketti, 66), McCormack (for O'Neil, 71), Daley (for Cresswell, 83) Not used: Ward, Brown, Langmead

ROVERS: Enckelman, Reid, Gray, Amoruso, Johansson, Matteo, Ferguson, Flitcroft, Yorke, Stead, Dickov. Subs: Tugay (for Dickov, 67), Neill (for Reid, 75), Emerton (for Flitcroft, 75) Not used: Gresko, Yelldell

Deepdale Att: 7,783

MORE

QUESTIONS

THAN

ANSWERS

FOR SOUNESS

Preston v Rovers -- Page 3