With the scores at 2-2, Eccleston outwitted his opponent by moving to his right to deny the home side’s skipper. With the save made, Preston’s confidence soared and David Sullivan, atoned for his yellow card the previous weekend, by smashing in a glorious winner to keep the West Cliff men unbeaten in the league. In truth, Satruday’s performance ranked as one of Preston’s least inspired of the season, with Rotherham raising their game considerably, as they scrap for points in their relegation battle with Leeds. The Yorkshire side took the lead after ten minutes when a slack pass out of defence from Richard Sullivan led to an unchallenged charge into Preston’s D, before the ball was slipped underneath the leg of Eccleston. Preston hit-back in fits and starts. Sam Sinclair showed his class by creating some half-openings, Don Cock went close after picking up a through ball from Richard Sullivan, but after rounding the goalkeeper, shot wide. Typically, it was Sinclair who engineered the equaliser. His rapid cross was superbly deflected in at the far post by 17-year-old Ben Heywood, who impressed on his full league debut. Preston set off in the second half with increased momentum as John Cullimore provided some intelligent touches in linking midfield and attack. His interplay with right-half, Matt Hoffman, and Sinclair providing much joy for a staccato Preston performance. Sinclair should have scored and Cock also, before Carl Sanderson misjudged a glorious opportunity at the far post. Rotherham made them pay. A five-man attack overloaded the Preston defence, leaving Eccleston with no chance as Marc Thompson flicked the ball into the bottom left hand corner. Riled at their concession, Preston made their response, with David Sullivan coming on for the injured Cullimore. It proved an inspired, if unintentional, switch. From a penalty corner, Sullivan collected the ball outside the right post before roofing the equaliser. Game on as Preston scented the win. But first Eccleston had to step up to the plate as David Sullivan, experiencing an eventful afternoon, conceded a penalty stroke after his body stopped the ball crossing the line following a penalty corner routine. Eccleston, a tower of strength so far this season, did the rest, smothering the waist-height effort and in turn, providing the shot in the arm for his team-mates. It was time for Preston to go for the jugular. A perfectly weighted through ball from Neil Guyton found David Sullivan, who after skipping past his challenger, cut into the D, and lashed in the winner to the great relief of his team mates, who saw out the final 10 minutes unscathed. After the game, the 22-year-old Sullivan, said: "It wasn’t a pretty performance by any stretch of the imagination, but we held our nerve. Ecky made a great penalty stroke save, and I was in the right place at the right time to see us through for the three points." Head Coach, Dave Scanlon said: "Credit to Rotherham who battled away all afternoon. We’re glad and quite relieved to get the win. We must now prepare fully for the challenge of Durham University this weekend. It’s a game, we are looking forward to immensely as we aim to secure our place in the business end of the league." With Hull, Durham University and Ben Rhydding all winning, the status quo at the top of the league remains the same. Preston take on Durham University at West Cliff this Saturday. Preston progress in Lancashire CupA hat-trick from Don Cock and one from Neil Guyton was enough to see off a competitive Bolton team, 4-0, in the 2nd round of the Lancashire Cup on Sunday. Preston await their quarter-final opponents in the New Year. ----The views expressed on this page are those of the contributor and the opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the BBC. | 
