Preston North End beat Swindon Town 4-1, dominating throughout in the League One game at Deepdale this afternoon.
The home side enjoyed a perfect start to the game, taking a 1-0 lead after just five minutes played. New signing Stuart Beavon charged down the goalkeeper and blocked the clearance, which then dropped to Akpo Sodje, who calmly slotted home.
Preston doubled their lead five minutes later when Scott Laird crossed the ball into Nicky Wroe, who flicked the ball past the goalkeeper.
Swindon were unable to get into the game and found themselves 3-0 down on 43 minutes. Beavon grabbed a debut goal, showing a poacher's instinct to tap home from a corner.
The half-time whistle blew on a superb 45 minutes for Preston, with the score at 3-0.
With 58 minutes gone, Swindon pulled a goal back through Raffaele De Vita, who cut inside from the left to drive his shot into the net.
Preston confirmed the win in the 69th minute through John Welsh's first goal for the club to make it 4-1 and all three points to Preston.
Sam Hughes
