TUESDAY just wasn't North End's night (February 20).

Without leading scorer Jon Macken, Preston went into the Birmingham match on the back of a brilliant three match run of victories, with three clean sheets and that run was expected, even against the likes of City.

Iain Anderson took over from Macken in attack and in the early exchanges Preston looked sharp and missed a great chance to take the lead after only eight minutes when Paul McKenna and Rob Edwards linked to set up a perfect chance for Mark Rankine.

The Preston midfielder was unmarked, 12 yards out with only goalkeeper Ian Bennett to beat. He did the difficult part in playing the ball beyond the keeper, but the ball drifted inches wide of the post as the fans groaned.

It proved a costly miss for Birmingham went down the other end of the park and took the lead.

A free kick on the edge of the box was hammered through the North End wall and Tepi Moilanen seemed unsighted as the ball beat his dive and went in to the corner of the net.

Preston hit back and David Healy, who had a fine match, went close on a couple of occasions with good efforts.

Brian McBride too wasn't far away with a stunning header that was going in to the roof of the net until Bennett turned the ball over the crossbar at the last moment. Moilanen then came to Preston's rescue when Jon McCarthy set up Marcelo only 10 yards out and the big striker hit a powerful shot that had goal written all over it until the Preston keeper made a brilliant save, just getting a glove to the ball to turn it around the post.

Healy had first a shot and then a header saved by Bennett as Preston battled for an equaliser, but City held on to their one-nil lead to the interval.

Preston came at Birmingham in the second half, but as the game went on, ideas of how to break down a solid City defence began to evaporate and the visitors looked ever more dangerous.

The match was over on 70 minutes when City added a second goal with a brilliant piece of individual skill from Andrew Johnson.

Collecting the ball midway inside the North End half he sprinted through two tackles to get to the edge of the box, down went the left shoulder to send another two defenders the wrong way and the finish was perfection as he slid the ball under the diving Tepi to wrap up the points.

Preston brought on Sean Gregan for Rankine and Barry-Murphy for Cartwright in the closing fifteen minutes to try to rescue something from the wreckage and North End should have got a goal back almost immediately.

Gregan hit a powerful shot that Bennett couldn't hold, the ball ran free to the unmarked Barry-Murphy who looked a certain scorer but his shot smacked against the crossbar and some fans headed for the exits.

It was disappointing after the recent run of victories and there was strange lack of noise coming from the terraces for long periods of the match as if the fans knew their side wasn't going to win this one.

Preston are still in with a great chance of reaching the play-offs despite this defeat and it's up to the fans to really get behind the side, make a thunderous roar from the terraces and get the points to stay in contention for honours come May.