Fuller's pride as Preston haul back Leicester

Gary Lineker's money? It was his feet and head that Leicester needed last night as their attempt to close the gap on First Division leaders Portsmouth was thwarted at Deepdale. The nimble toes of matchwinner Ricardo Fuller did the damage, helping Preston edge slightly closer to the play-off places. But the visitors had so little cutting edge they would have struggled to fight their way out of a crisp packet.

It was not the kind of night for standing still, Lancashire's November chill given extra bite by an erratic swirling wind. But the early exchanges – for all their pace – provided few signs of coherent direction and no shots on target in the opening half hour.

The visitors were first to come anywhere vaguely close, Jamie Scowcroft heading wide in the sixth minute. It was a rare incursion for the former Ipswich striker, playing wide on the right as half of a flanking double act with Jordan Stewart. In the conditions, their aim was simple enough. Collect the ball, go as wide as possible, and hump it in hope towards a central target.

The biggest flaw in the cunning plan was that often there was no target arriving on time or in the right place. Brian Deane was curiously lacking in positional nous in the first 45 minutes while Paul Dickov was more anonymous still. The early lack of penetration was epitomised when Muzzy Izzet floated a long free-kick into the box only to see it glide, untouched, across a poorly-marked goal.

Preston, after taking time to settle, took a different approach. Passing to feet, occasionally in something resembling neat triangles, they tried to cut their way straight down the centre of the park. Paul McKenna and Dickson Etuhu both saw shots go averagely wide before Fuller mis-sliced by half the width of the pitch.

Defeated by the wind, Fuller then proceeded to try his luck running the ball towards goal. It was the closest the first half came to excitement and almost paid dividends. First he twisted and turned on the edge of the box before unleashing a powerful drive that flew just over. Then, 10 minutes before the break, he dribbled straight towards Ian Walker who did well to close him down and block for a corner.

Within three minutes of the restart, Fuller finally had his name on the scoresheet. Leicester's defence can take no pride in allowing a flicked-on kick from Preston goalkeeper David Lucas to bamboozle them so soundly, but Fuller did well in forcing his way to the byline and feigning a shot, and even better in deftly converting from a narrow angle once his bluff had wrong-footed Walker.

After comfortably holding the visitors at bay, Preston wrapped the game up in injury time as Fuller doubled his tally with an absolute peach of a solo run and shot.

Preston North End (4-4-2): Lucas; Alexander, Lucketti, Murdock, Edwards; Skora, McKenna, Etuhu, Lewis (Broomes, 87); Fuller (Cartwright, 90), Cresswell. Substitutes not used: Moilanen (gk), Rankine, Healy.

Leicester City (4-4-2): Walker; Sinclair, Elliott, Taggart, Rogers (McKinlay, 79); Scowcroft, Izzet, Davidson, Stewart (Benjamin, 73); Dickov, Deane (Stevenson, 80). Substitutes not used: Flowers (gk), Impey.

Referee: A N Butler (Sutton-in-Ashfield).