WHATEVER orders coach Colin Sinclair issued to his team beforehand clearly had the desired effect as Preston's pressing game worked wonders on a bemused Bolton midfield.

Particularly impressive was James Blackburn who suffocated Bolton's main threat, Jon Woods, off the ball so frequently that the visitors' passing game was never allowed to develop.

Blackburn added the gloss to his performance by opening the scoring in a wonderfully crafted first goal. Captain Nick Sutcliffe, deployed in a forward role, fed the ball to Phil Bowman who breaking forward from the right, slipped the ball past the oncoming goalkeeper before Blackburn slapped the ball into the empty net.

Preston extended their lead early in the second half following good work from a rejuvenated Luke Wilson who teased the Bolton defence with his dribbling skills before winning a deserved penalty corner.

And from the resultant set-piece, Richard Sullivan moved the ball to his right where Sutcliffe steadied himself before hammering the ball emphatically past the goalkeeper.

Moments later the game was effectively settled as Wilson picked up the ball in the D following a poor clearance from the Bolton defence before flicking the ball past the outstretched stick of the goalkeeper.

All the while Bolton's attempts to breach the home defence floundered as David Sullivan's flat stick continually repelled the efforts of Steve Way and company.

But eventually Bolton were handed a potential lifeline following a strange decision by umpire Ken Rothwell to award a penalty stroke. Despite the interrogations by the Preston players, Steve Way placed the ball just above Simon Eccleston's stick.

And just to keep the Preston player's and supporters on their toes until the final whistle Bolton scored again when a short corner strike was turned into his own net by Nick Sutcliffe.

Preston 3 Bolton 2