Preston on Championship charge

Preston North End endured a miserable start to the season - but their victory over high-flying Norwich last night provided further evidence that the second tier's 13-placed side still have an outside shot at promotion.

With Leeds picking up three points at home to Swansea, the result knocked the Canaries off their perch at the top of the table, and closed the gap between Preston and the play-off places to 8 points. 

A quick trawl through the numbers shows that, in fact, only three teams - Norwich, Leeds and Sheffield United - have picked up more points than Preston since the start of October.

📈 Most C'ship points fr. OCTOBER 2018:
4⃣3⃣: Norwich
4⃣2⃣: Leeds
3⃣9⃣: Sheff U
3⃣8⃣: 👉PRESTON,👈 Bristol C
3⃣6⃣: Birmingham

🔗: https://t.co/cd0mltG8g0#pnefc @pnefc pic.twitter.com/kfUjr0eE9v

— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) February 14, 2019

It's all a far cry from the end of a winless September when four defeats and a draw seemed to suggest that the remainder of Preston's season held a relegation battle in store.

Manager Alex Neil has guided North End through such adversity, however, and goals from Ben Davies, Paul Gallagher (penalty) and Sean Maguire capped an impressive display last night.

Maguire's strike - smartly turning in a rebound after a fabulous long-range effort from Alan Browne - was his first of the season, and North End will hope the Irishman can now rediscover the form he was showing prior to picking up a hamstring injury on international duty back in November.