Alexander in tune against ragged band

Preston North End 4 Derby County

Only a point separated these sides at kick-off, but in all other respects they were a gulf apart as a resurgent Preston recorded their fifth victory in six matches against a declining Derby, whose sixth game without a win had disgruntled supporters calling for the head of the manager, John Gregory.

Gregory skipped the post-match press conference. Perhaps after describing his side's midweek performance against Crystal Palace as "appalling" he was unable to find an appropriate adjective for this one. Derby were at least hoping to retrieve some self-respect, but instead conceded three goals inside the first 39 minutes.

The pleasure Preston's manager, Craig Brown, drew from his side climbing to 12th in the table was tempered only by Derby's two late goals. "It might seem churlish to complain," he said, "but we became careless at the back and it was a bit of an anticlimax after we had played so well for the first hour." During that time, Preston were simply too slick for leaden-footed Derby.

When the South African striker George Koumantarakis cashed in on goalkeeper Lee Grant's fumble to tap home Preston's third goal, chants of "You might as well go home" taunted the hapless visitors. If that goal was a gift, the others had been more impressively earned. The first, on 15 minutes, came after Dickson Etuhu's fine pass had found Paul McKenna. The ball was worked through Eddie Lewis and Lee Cartwright before Graham Alexander finished.

Lewis broke swiftly from midfield to pave the way for the second. His low cross from the left was met by Koumantarakis, whose shot was blocked by Grant, but the ball spun out for Etuhu to fire home from six yards.

The replacement of a limping Jonathan Gould with David Lucas in the Preston goal was little more than a detail. However, Lucas did tip a dipping effort from Rob Lee over before half-time.

Preston's fourth, swept in by Richard Cresswell after Chris Lucketti had headed down McKenna's cross, came on 41 minutes. The contest remained one-sided, only Grant's heroics thwarting Preston, until Fabrizio Ravanelli netted his first goals since the opening day of the season.

The Italian, who has missed much of the campaign through injury, deflected home Craig Burley's drive 15 minutes from time and then nodded in Burley's cross in stoppage time. But it was a response that came too late.

Preston North End 4
Alexander 14, Etuhu 26, Koumantarakis 39, Cresswell 51

Derby County 2
Ravanelli 75, 90

Half-time: 3-0 Attendance: 14,003