It wasn't pretty but Bristol City did what they had to do last night and show a response to come away with three big points.
The pressure was on heading into the contest and there was certainly an anxiousness inside Ashton Gate as the two sides cancelled each other out in a forgettable first half.
It quickly became evident why Preston had scored seven and conceded six heading into the contest but Rob Atkinson would eventually bring the game to life 10 minutes into the second half when he headed home Mark Sykes' delivery. It was the wing-back's first assist of the season which will hopefully do him the world of good.
Preston rarely threatened yet City's defence was breached from a set-piece again eight minutes from time when they failed to deal with a great delivery into the box. The ball bobbled out to Andrew Hughes who drilled it past a hapless Max O'Leary.
It makes a pleasant and welcome change for the Robins to be the team scoring at the death. You only have to cast your mind back to the game at Preston last season when City conceded right at the end to throw away two points.
This time it was roles reversed as Alex Scott's corner planted on the head of Atkinson to grab his second and send Ashton Gate into raptures. The celebration at the end was something to behold and it was evident what it meant to the players and fans alike.
Here's the verdict as City climbed seven places up the Championship.
Welcome back, Timm
I have to admittedly hold my hands up and admit I was too harsh with the player ratings to give him a six. It was a mark that took into consideration the only error he made when he conceded a silly free-kick a few yards outside his own area.
The resulting delivery came into the box and next thing you know, Preston were celebrating in front of their small group of fans who had made the long midweek trip. Ultimately and fortunately, it didn't mean anything as Atkinson grabbed the winner.
But boy, was it good to see Klose back in the starting XI and what a difference he made to the backline in comparison to Saturday. A loss of form over pre-season, knee injuries, personal matters and Kal Naismith's arrival meant the Swiss veteran was making his first league start of the season.
It was a Rolls Royce performance from the 34-year-old who looked like he had never been away. He brought a calming influence to the defence and looked assured on the ball.
More importantly, he was colossal in the air by winning his aerial battles something that was non-existent against Birmingham. Manager Pearson pointed it out when asked about his performance: "He headed the ball for a start, we didn't do that at the weekend.
"Timm's an experienced player and I would expect him to come in and have a positive influence so he's been missing since the start of the season and it's nice to have him available, I thought he did okay tonight."
He may have not been blessed with pace in his career, certainly not now as he enters the twilight of his career, but he makes up for that with his intelligence on the pitch and he will certainly have given Pearson a selection problem if Naismith is fit to face Millwall on Saturday.
The goalkeeper situation
A penny for Dan Bentley's thoughts when he was told Max O'Leary will be starting in goal yesterday. City's captain has not been shy in sharing his frustration at being out of the team last season during that two-month spell.
It's not in his character to be content with sitting on the sidelines and you know he would have been devastated to have lost his place to his Republic of Ireland team-mate. He's a leader and he'll be desperate to prove the manager wrong in his decision - which is potentially why Pearson made the call in the first place.
Bentley hasn't done much wrong this season. Yes, the goals conceded record hasn't been good enough particularly away from home but Birmingham aside, he hasn't made any standout errors while keeping four clean sheets on home soil.
He had a difficult afternoon against Birmingham, especially from crosses and that may have been in Pearson's thinking to bring O'Leary in for his first appearance of the season. In the build-up, the manager made note of Preston's emphasis on getting balls into the box during his pre-match press conference.
Although I'm not sure anybody saw that decision coming. It was a big call and there was a lot of pressure on the manager and goalkeeper to get that right last night particularly considering the recent run of results.
By the full-time whistle it was entirely justified. He didn't have much to do in the first half but was alert to the danger to sprint off his line to deny Sean Maguire when the forward was played through on goal.
His distribution was also sound but it was a moment in the second half that stood out. Minutes after City got themselves ahead, Emil Riis was played through on goal and his strike looked destined to find the corner.
O'Leary dived down low to his right and showed a really strong hand to keep it out. It felt like a big moment in the game which could have easily changed the dynamic had it brought Preston level.
He will consider himself unlucky not to have kept a clean sheet having had little chance in keeping out Hughes' effort. But he can rest assured he'll undoubtedly keep his place for the visit of Millwall on Saturday.
Where does this leave Bentley? Well, it was a two-month spell out of the side last season which ended when O'Leary picked up an injury. Judging by Pearson's comments on Stefan Bajic on Tuesday, it won't be too long before the young Frenchman is named in the matchday squad as he "fast-tracks" himself through the manager's thought process.
With his deal expiring in the summer, it does offer the sense that it could be the beginning of the end for the captain.
Winning ugly
Collective. It was a word that Pearson repeatedly used in the build-up to the game and it's obviously the linchpin to any success City have this season.
It was interesting to hear on Tuesday the manager's comments that some players may have drifted away from those values considering the tough run of form. He said a few players may have isolated themselves which Pearson added was natural when faced with difficult results and performances.
The result was important last night but what was equally as important was to see City playing as a collective unit. The first half wasn't pretty viewing but they came quickly out of the blocks before Preston started to find their feet and that was an important initial reaction.
An opening 45 minutes of little chances, City looked comfortable as Preston sat deep and allowed both Mark Sykes and Jay Dasilva with the freedom to move forward into crossing positions although their final delivery was frustratingly wasteful.
They stifled the play through the middle, which seems to be a recurring theme from visiting teams to Ashton Gate this season, meaning Tommy Conway and Antoine Semenyo found it difficult to get into the game for the first hour.
Semenyo did spring into life in passages and struck fear in the Preston defence when he was running at them with the ball at his feet but he did have to wait until around the hour mark for his first opportunity on goal. It's now been 300 minutes since a City forward found the back of the net which is an anomaly in itself considering how ruthless they have been this season.
It wasn't the fluid, fast-flowing attacking display we have been accustomed to seeing and therefore City needed to dig deep and win ugly, thanks to the aerial threat of Atkinson. You have only to look at the celebrations for the second goal, in particular, to see what it meant to both the players and supporters as the roof came off the stadium.
Pearson said of the game: "They are a team that play in a deep block because they are a counter-attacking side so you have to think about different team's style of play. Our wing-backs were better than theirs tonight and had we found better quality with the end product we would have created more chances.
"I think our pace and ability to mix our own style up was beneficial during the game. Going from being possession-based to counter-attacking ourselves, we're better when we play at a good tempo."
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