Bristol City remain undefeated, Sam Bell scores again and Alex Scott runs the show... copy and paste.
If only it was that simple as the Robins were made to graft for three battling points against a side who were renowned as one of City's bogey teams heading into kick-off.
It was 11 years since City last won at Deepdale, courtesy of a 4-0 thrashing thanks to a brace from David Clarkson. Nobody expected Nigel Pearson's side to pull off a result of that magnitude but given the run of form and Preston's home record of three wins all season, there was a cautious optimism heading into the game.
It took just six minutes for the visitors to take the lead as a howler from Robbie Brady at the back allowed Mark Sykes to dance around the keeper and pass into an empty net to get them on their way.
Preston huffed and puffed but couldn't beat Max O'Leary in the City goal before another moment of genius from Alex Scott helped City double their lead. A ball down the line freed Nahki Wells who picked out Sam Bell to score his first league goal for his boyhood club.
The second half was a long and nervy watch as Preston manager Ryan Lowe rolled the dice and threw men forward to test City's resolve at the back. Ched Evans clawed them back into it from close range but Pearson's side were not going to let their hard work go to waste.
As the final whistle blew, some players dropped to their knees in celebration having given their all and City will now look towards Norwich hoping to stretch their unbeaten run to nine matches in all competitions.
Here's the verdict from a cold, drizzly but memorable afternoon in Preston as City move nine points away from the drop zone and eight adrift of the play-offs.
Give it to Scott
Matty James was speaking in the build-up to the game about his team-mate following his stunning individual performance against West Brom. As it goes, nothing surprises him about Scott's performances anymore but he was eager not to overhype the 19-year-old and instead set the expectations by challenging him to become more consistent.
Well, that's two consecutive games where he dominated the midfield rewarded with a piece of brilliance that ultimately led to Bristol City's winning goal on the stroke of half-time. The touch, control, and pass to free Wells were out of this world although take nothing away from the striker's cross to pick out Bell's run.
He threatened to do it all afternoon - before the second goal he pulled off something of similar quality but on the other side of the flank. Sitting in the press conference room after the game, a Preston reporter turned to me and said: "I'd heard of Alex Scott's quality but I hadn't seen him much in person, what a player."
At the risk of bombarding Nigel Pearson with even more questions about Scott's talent, the Bristol City manager made an interesting point where he said in a game like that, tactics go out of the window and instead, the points are earned by moments of individual quality.
"He's at his best when he can find areas of the pitch to hurt our opponents," Pearson said. "It was an interesting game because they started with three up top and pushed wing-backs on as well.
"There were a lot of things going on but when we had the ball it was important to find him. It wasn't won or lost because of tactics. Tactics have nothing to do with that.
"We were able to take advantage of a brilliant piece of opportunism just before half-time. You need players who can just recognise moments in games where you just..." Pearson then tailed off with a grin on his face.
The way he glides past his opponents with ease, works his way out of tight areas and drives City up the pitch is something to behold. With two midfielders in Matty James and/or Kal Naismith and Joe Williams sitting behind, it allows Scott to almost play with a free role around the pitch.
His heat map shows that he covered almost every blade of grass, driving his team toward victory. It's just lucky the transfer window is closed so the focus can continue on the task at hand but these performances are doing himself and City no harm in increasing his transfer value.
Cam Pring's redemption
It was almost a year to the day when City were just seconds away from winning at Preston until Cam Pring went on a mazy run to get the visitors up the other end of the field. Long story short, he opted against heading to the corner, lost the ball and Preston went up the other end to grab a cruel equaliser.
It was a moment of naivety and experience that Pring would have undoubtedly learned from. "Our game management at the end should be better and we lost two points through an exceptional finish and what we have to learn to do is how to manage the situation," Pearson would comment after the game.
Fast forward a year and as Preston piled on the pressure as the board went up for six minutes of added time, there was a flashback of last season as City threw their bodies on the line desperate to hold onto three well-earned points.
There was one passage of play that Pring was instrumental to. A lofted ball into the box was brought down by Liam Delap who looked sure to hit the net but Pring came across and made an inch-perfect tackle just seconds before the Man City loanee pulled the trigger.
It was a mature, disciplined performance by Pring. Pearson was reluctant to get his full-backs bombing forward so instead he and George Tanner were content to let the likes of Sam Bell and Mark Sykes work the flanks with City playing on the counter.
Yesterday showed how Pring is maturing as a player, both with his footballing ability and also with the quality of his game management. No City player had more touches than the academy product with 74, Scott the next in line with 58.
Competition for places
As BBC Radio Bristol revealed before the game, there were 537 more league appearances on the substitute bench this weekend in comparison to the FA Cup victory over West Brom (even with one extra sub named.)
Alongside new signing Nikita Haikin were Tomas Kalas, Andi Weimann, Jay Dasilva, new signings Harry Cornick and Anis Mehmeti and Joe Williams - a blend of experience, flair and talent at Pearson's disposal.
Arguably, it was the strongest squad Pearson has named this season and that's not forgetting the likes of Tommy Conway and Kane Wilson are just two players who will look to force their way back into the set-up once they return from injuries.
As we found out with Kal Naismith who hobbled off after 30 minutes with a calf issue, a player's availability can change in an instant so Pearson won't be getting too ahead of himself but he now has options available for every eventuality from the bench.
Yes, Joe Williams' introduction was forced after 30 minutes but he offers a bite in midfield. Kalas, who made his third substitute appearance of the season after injury, brings an experience at the back to help see out a victory while there is plenty of attacking quality on the bench should Pearson need to change the course of a game.
"Today we had the advantage of having an experienced bench. When a game is as tight as that, to be able to call on players who can use their experience is something that is beneficial to the team," Pearson said after the game.
"That's always a big part of constructing a squad. You don't want too many players because then you have players sitting around doing nothing. There needs to be a realistic opportunity for players to get into the side.
"It's also an important thing to have real competition so players who don't perform could lose their place. We've got players who can come in there and do okay for us. That's how we will try and do it."
Max's form
At this rate, we could very well be in a situation where new signing Nikita Haikin may come to the end of his short-term Bristol City contract without having to play a game given the form of O'Leary.
Perhaps I was a little harsh in giving him a seven in the player ratings, but the only blemish on a class performance was his fumble in the second half when he failed to grasp onto a strike from distance, straight into the path of Evans to bring Preston back into the game.
The Republic of Ireland keeper deserves plenty of credit for his showing. His first save of the game to keep out Tom Cannon's header from close range proved the catalyst for City to go up the other end and open the scoring. It's a game of fine margins and without making himself back at the near post, Preston take the lead and it's a completely different game.
Including that one, he made three excellent saves. One to deny Evans' header from close range in the first-half when the ball came back across goal from a deep cross.
The other was at the beginning of the second half when he got down brilliantly to tip a strike from Cannon on the angle wide of his left post. Preston had 17 shots on goal in total, six of them on target
However, what also stood out was how well he commanded his area from set-pieces. According to Whoscored, he came out to claim the ball on three occasions including one in the 91st minute to relieve intense pressure on the backline. He also made two punches and his reputation as City's No1 is very much intact.
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