Goals from Ryan Ledson and Mads Frokjaer-Jensen gave Preston a 2-0 Carabao Cup victory over Sunderland in their first match since the shock departure of manager Ryan Lowe.
Ledson opened the scoring via a deflection in the 37th minute and his Danish team-mate sealed the victory with an excellent 70th-minute solo strike.
The Black Cats had made 11 changes from their win against Cardiff but should have taken the lead in the 16th minute when Abdoullah Ba headed wide from point-blank range.
Emil Riis went closest for Preston in the 35th minute, taking the ball on the left before storming into the box and forcing Simon Moore into a smart save.
However, just a couple of minutes later, Ledson’s first-time shot from Brad Potts’ low cross took a deflection off Zak Johnson and trickled into the net.
Riis forced Moore into a low save less than 60 seconds after the interval and the Sunderland stopper needed an even better reaction to keep out Ben Whiteman’s rocket from inside the box.
The hosts continued to probe and eventually their pressure paid off as Frokjaer powered his way up the pitch, past several challengers, before drilling low past Moore from 25 yards.
