Preston North End may have an injury hit defence but you wouldn't have known it as Alan Irvine's side battled to yet another clean sheet with a fine 1-0 win over Norwich City.

Irvine drafted Andrew Davies in at the eleventh hour to cover for a battle scarred backline but he looked like he had been playing for North End for years in an impervious display from the Lilywhites defence.

The PNE defence held firm whilst at the other end of the field North End employed a double-edged battering ram of a strikeforce of Jon Parkin and Chris Brown. It was Parkin who grabbed the crucial strike for North End, slotting one in off the post, moments after the other post had denied him opening the scoring.

Parkin's fifth of the season proved to be the winner once again, but the victory over Bryan Gunn's side was a real team effort with PNE impressing from back to front.

There were a few surprises in the starting line-up, Stephen Elliott absent due to illness and replaced by former Canary Chris Brown, Youl Mawene had to be content with a place on the bench after tweaking a hamstring in midweek whilst Richard Chaplow came in to cover for the suspended Ross Wallace.

An early chance for North End came after clever play from Nicholson to release Chaplow down the right flank, the midfielder took a quick look up before delivering a cross into the box, Sean St. Ledger rose the highest to it to glance a header across the face of goal.

Lee Croft had started the game quite brightly and had seen plenty of the ball and in the 15th minute he picked up the ball in the middle of the park and hit a low curling effort that cleared Lonergan's left-hand post by just a yard.

North End had the crowd off their seats in the 28th minute after a ball into Parkin was headed towards Nicholson in the six yard box, the Scottish midfielder had the time and space as he poked the ball towards goal, Shackell half-cleared it and it almost ricocheted of St. Ledger into the net.

Andy Lonergan rescued North End with a fine one-handed save on 31 minutes. It came after Chaplow was dispossessed by Fotheringham in the centre of the park and the Norwich skipper surged downfield with a three-on-two counter-attack. Rather than choose a pass he decided to go for goal and his shot was deflected, almost sending Lonergan the wrong way before the keeper stuck out a hand to palm it around the post.

Chaplow made amends seconds later when he picked up the ball on the right of the box and looped a ball across the penalty box to find Nicholson arriving unmarked, Nicholson and Ostemobor both challenged for the ball and the PNE midfielder just couldn't get a clean connection to volley the ball home.

Jon Parkin almost broke the deadlock five minutes before the break with a fine individual effort. Picking the ball up in the right channel he was one on one with Docherty, turned the ball inside onto his left foot and drove a curling effort that beat Marshall before smashing off the inside of the post and away.

But the big man would not be denied and moments after seeing his ball bounce away off one post, this time the woodwork favoured him. It came from a free-kick on the right, the ball came across from McKenna, Brown had an initial shot that was deflected into Parkin who had the time and space to drill another left footed effort across the keeper, this time it hit the inside of the post and just crossed the line.

North End started the second stanza in positive fashion and Parkin combined with Sedgwick to play a delightful lob over the Norwich defence, Chaplow ran on to the ball and tried to hit the ball on the volley, he just couldn't connect fully and the half hit shot was parried away by Marshall.

The game continued it's end-to-end nature and I the 59th minute the Norwich fans felt they had a penalty shout when Wes Hoolahan went on a mazy run into the box only to be met by the brick wall that it Sean St. Ledger. Up at the other end and Jon Parkin again found himself with the ball at his feet in the box and he danced past one challenge before unleashing a powerful drive that was well blocked by Shackell.

Parkin turned provider in the 67th minute when he muscled his way onto a long ball downfield and cutting in from the left flank set the ball up for Chris Brown on the edge of the box. Brown skipped inside one challenge before seeing his shot charged down by former team-mate Gary Doherty.

North End made a double substitution on 69 minutes when Darren Carter and Simon Whaley entered the fray to replace Richard Chaplow and Chris Sedgwick.

The Canaries made their own double substitution with 13 minutes left on the clock. Wesley Hoolahan was replaced by David Carney and Carl Cort was taken off for Jamie Cureton.

Simon Whaley had made an impressive impact, plenty of pace down the right flank and he sent some encouraging crosses into the box.

As the game wore on Norwich were more and more desperate for an equaliser and on 83 minutes they almost got one. The ball was hit across the box to the far post and David Carney from an acute angle smashed a shot across goal, it looked goal bound but somehow in the scramble it just couldn't cross the line, Chris Killen followed up but Andrew Davies blocked well. It proved to be Norwich's best chance of the game.

Norwich's fight was over and they failed to test the North End goal again, Youl Mawene was sent on to strengthen Preston's rearguard and after a thoroughly entertaining affair the game was over.

PNE's victory took them up to fourth in the table, points in the bag with the chasing pack now under pressure to win their games in hand to recover the lost ground.

Don't forget you'll be able to see extended highlights of this game on Whites World this Monday. Whites World is free in February!