Mark Yeates scored his first Blades goal but if Unitedites need any confirmation that Kevin Blackwell's side are out of luck then the evidence was in both of Preston's goals.

The first, on 10 minutes, was aided by... A) New boy Bartley being off the field receiving treatment, B) The ball hitting referee Eddie Ilderton to break up a Blades move and C) a massive and telling deflection on Matt James' shot.

The second, with less than 20 minutes to go, was assisted by... A) A suspect penalty and B) The ball dropping nicely back to Jon Parkin after Ian Bennett had saved the striker's penalty.

Yeates - a threat to the North End defence for the majority of the match - was rewarded for his efforts late on to set up a stirring finale.

Teenage loanee Bartley, signed earlier in the day from Arsenal, started and he was joined in the rearguard by Geary and Bennett. The injured Bunn, plus Henderson and Stewart - who were both amongst the substitutes - were the players to miss out. Goalkeeper Aksalu was on the bench for the first time. For the home side, midfielder James made his debut after signing on loan from Manchester United and ex Blade Treacy was on the bench.

The formation that United would line up with would have given Preston boss Ferguson food for thought before kick-off and it was revealed soon after referee Ilderton's first whistle with Bartley and Nosworthy as the new central defensive pairing and Kallio at left-back. Further forward, Cresswell and Evans were the front two in a 4-4-2 formation.

Preston won a corner in the first minute and were also gifted the game's first noteworthy chance but after Kallio gave away possession, Sedgwick was off target from the corner of the box. United's first opportunity was an Evans header from a Yeates corner but Lonergan was untroubled.

Bartley's welcome to league football was a spell in the dugout for treatment on a blood injury and whilst he was off the field, Preston took advantage. In fact the home side were also inadvertently helped by the referee, who deflected captain Montgomery's pass to a white shirt in the build up to the opening goal. Parkin held off Geary down the left and after Welbeck laid off, JAMES fired home from 20 yards, helped enormously by a deflection off Nosworthy that left Bennett wrong-footed.

Bartley resumed and the Blades attempted to hit back immediately with half-chances from Evans and Cresswell but again Lonergan was unworried. The goalkeeper, however, was at full stretch on 21 minutes and was delighted to see Williamson's controlled first-time effort from the edge of the box, after Cresswell's head down, roll inches wide.

Around the half hour mark there were a number of nervy moments for the Unitedites that had negotiated the Pennines. Firstly, after rolling around Bartley, Parkin hammered an effort against the crossbar and then there were appeals for a penalty when Welbeck fell under Nosworthy's challenge. On 32 minutes, Bennett spilled a cross from Sedgwick but Parkin could only hook the ball onto the roof of the net.

The Blades won a number of set-pieces close to the break - including three corners on the bounce - but the North End backline held firm to ensure they carried the narrow lead in to the second period.

That advantage was severely threatened 12 seconds after half time. Yeates, on the right, dispossessed Jones and despite finding himself at an acute angle, the shot deflected off Lonergan's diving body and kissed the far post before North End cleared.

Encouraged, the Blades attacked the home side early in the second period. A good break, started by Quinn, resulted in Cresswell just failing to get on the end of an Evans cross and then Yeates, from the left, cut in and curling wide. Evans also had an effort blocked by Mawene before the home side struck back with a couple of chances of their own.

Parkin cut in from the right but saw his shot saved by Bennett and Wallace had time and space but missed the target. Bartley picked up the game's first booking, when he was harshly adjudged to have blocked off Welbeck.

Blackwell's intentions were clear when he threw on Ward and Camara within the space of five minutes, giving them plenty of time to get in to the game but North End were presented with another glorious opportunity to make it two on 71 minutes.

From a Wallace cross, Nosworthy looked to have outpowered Welbeck but referee Ilderton pointed to the penalty spot. PARKIN saw his initial effort saved by Bennett, diving to his left, but the big striker converted the rebound.

Henderson was introduced to add power before the restart and his first contribution was a cross from the left which was missed by Jones, but he did enough to put off an unmarked Yeates at the back post.

United worked themselves a lifeline as the game entered the final ten minutes. From Geary's diagonal ball into the box, Henderson nodded down and YEATES took a steadying touch before slamming to the left of Lonergan.

Preston had already displayed signs of a wobble at the back and Camara and Ward were both causing problems. From a fine Ward cross, Yeates was denied a second by a block from James and Coutts was booked for a foul on the edge of the box as United continued to pour forward in the dying minutes.

An additional four minutes of stoppage time presented hope but a pressured run from Ward was all that the Blades fans could get excited about before the final whistle.

Preston: Lonergan, Hart, Mawene, Sedgwick (Treacy 77), St Ledger, Coutts, Welbeck, Jones, James (Carter 90), Wallace (Brown 90), Parkin.
Unused: Collins, Chilvers, Henderson, Mellor.

Blades: Bennett, Montgomery, Nosworthy, Evans (Camara 64), Yeates, Williamson, Cresswell (Henderson 71), Bartley, Geary, Quinn (Ward 59), Kallio.
Unused: France, Stewart, Aksalu, Fortune.