Preston North End 0 Bolton 2

Quite simply, Preston were not at the races in this the first match of the new year at Deepdale and North End have now lost four out of their last five games.

Preston had new one and a half million pound striker David Healy on the bench at the start of the match although he came on midway through the half to replace the injured Jon Macken.

Bolton bossed the game from the start and they deservedly took the lead on ten minutes when Gareth Farrelly hit home a low drive from the edge of the box past an unsighted David Lucas.

Dean Holdsworth should have added a second soon after when he was through on goal with only David Lucas to beat, the Bolton fans got ready to cheer the goal until the Preston keeper made a brilliant save to clear the danger.

Lucas was back in action soon after making a save at full stretch to claw away a rocket from Ricardo Gardner.

Preston had just the one real chance in the first half as the ball was played up to David Healy on the edge of the box.

With his back to goal, he turned and hit the ball all in the same movement and the ball was on the way in to the net until Jussi Jaaskelainen made a brilliant save to keep the ball out.

North End battled hard in the second half trying to open up the Bolton defence but Paul Warhurst and Colin Hendry snuffed out the Preston attack.

Preston then had a good ten minute spell when they put the Bolton goal under enormous pressure and once again only a great save from Jaaskelainen prevented David Healy scoring on his home debut.

That proved to be the final turning of the match for Wanderers went down to the other end of the park and clinched the valuable points.

Super sub Michael Rickets had only been on the pitch two minutes when he rose majestically at the far post to meet Gareth Farrelly's cross and powered an unstoppable header high in the roof of the net.

Rickett is a prolific scorer, regularly hitting the target and what a player he is for Bolton to have sitting on the bench waiting to be introduced to the action.

Preston kept at the task, looking for some festive consolation and in a late attack Steve Robinson just failed to hit the target from a difficult angle.

North End will look back on the first half of the season with satisfaction, true the recent results have been disappointing, but at the start of the season every Preston fan would have been happy with the position that Preston find themselves in now the higher division.

It was just one of those days, nothing went Preston's way and they now take a break from the league action and transfer their attention to the FA Cup.

Preston meet Stockport County at Deepdale on Saturday in the greatest cup competition in the world as the FA Cup magic looms large.

Preston boss David Moyes said that he was "disappointed with the overall performance today, we didn't trouble them too much and they looked comfortable against us."

Asked if he would now have to lift the players Moyes said: "Yes, it's down to me, we have had a good first half season, the results of late haven't gone our way, now I have to put things right on the training ground."

Former Preston caretaker manager and Preston captain Sam Allardyce was happy with the scoreline and said: "We were in control, they didn't trouble us until the second half when they played long balls through the middle."