Hearts fall to Preston North End defeat

Preston North End narrowly beat Hearts 1-0 in their pre-season friendly this afternoon.

The Championship club came close to opening the scoring in the first half, with Jermaine Beckford and Paul Gallagher spurning a couple of chances for the hosts.

In the second half, Preston broke the deadlock when Joe Garner took advantage of a poor clearance from Hearts goalkeeper Neil Alexander.

Preston almost extended their lead with 10 minutes to go, but Nick Anderton's cross just evaded Josh Brownhill.

Despite late pressure, Hearts failed to find an equaliser as Preston held on for the win.