LEFT foot, right foot, head - not Preston's answer to the hoaky koaky but the awesome performance of David Healy.

First he hit a hat-trick in the space of 30 minutes, then his team-mates went on to double the score line - only for David Moyes to say the team can play better.

He said: "We can play better than that. We have done in the past and I am sure we will in the future.

"The team has a lot of confidence at the moment and I think we are a wiser side before. We have done this course before and I think it will stand us in good stead.

"David Healy had a great game but there are better things to come from him as well. He is just a baby and he will continue to get better too.

The game itself could not have been predicted by even the most optimistic supporter. To start with, Healy's fitness was in doubt after he collected a neck injury when he was clattered by Andy Goram in midweek.

And after missing the first chance of the game, Healy hit his first of three on 10 minutes.

He played a one-two with Paul McKenna before firing the ball beyond former Blackburn keeper Tim Flowers.

The last time Flowers played at Deepdale - for Rovers in the Worthington Cup - he tasted defeat, blaiming his failure to stop the ball going into the net on the fact Deepdale Duck was distracting him.

He had no excuse today - apart from blaming the lacklustre defence in front of him.

On 28 minutes, Jason Van Blerk felled Graham Alexander just outside the County area, and the ball squirmed to Healy. He wasted little time rattling away his second goal of the game.

Van Blerk almost immediatley added to County's woes by punching Alexander after claiming handball before the ball had reached Healy. Without hesitation, referee Mr H Webb (no, not Cliff Richard) sent him off.

Healy wrapped up his hat-trick on 38 minutes when he headed home Alexander's cross from the right.

It could easily have been 4-0 at half-time, had McKenna not sent the ball of Flowers' net.

David Lucas, on for Tepi Moilanen who went off early in the game after straining a muscle, was hardly troubled by a shot from Glynn Hurst.

Moyes used his last two subs eight minutes in the second half.

Richard Cresswell and Kevin Gallacher replaced Healy and Macken, who had been strangely quiet all afternoon.

Chris Lucketti - having being told the goal everyone thought he scored on Wednesday against Coventry had been credited to Cresswell - bagged goal number four when he headed home Graham Alexander's corner from eight yards out.

County - whose fans had resorted to chanting 'we just want one' - almost gifted North End their fifth when Mike Flynn's header tested Flowers.

Flowers' former Rovers team-mate Gallacher forced him to tip a fantastic shot over the bar.

Creswell blasted in a ferocious shot from the edge of the box - his first touch of the game - after collecting McKenna's shot and turning before using his right foot.

On 83 minutes, Cresswell returned the favour, with his shot rebounding out to McKenna, who blasted home goal number six.

It was a scoreline not seen for six years - and the first PNE hat-trick for six years too.

North End must now sweat on the fitness of Tepi and Sean Gregan, who seemed to struggle after being fouled by Peter Clark int he second half.

RESULT:

PNE 6 - Healy 3, Cresswell, Lucketti, McKenna

STOCKPORT COUNTY 0

TEAMS:

PNE: moilanen, alexander, kidd, murdock, lucketti, rankine, gregan, mckenna, macken, healy, cartwright. subs: lucas, gallacher, anderson, eaton, cresswell

COUNTY: flowers, gibb, clark, flynn, sandford, van blerk, clare, smith, hurst, wilbraham, taylor. subs: turner, sneekes, welch, woodthorpe, roget