Sean Maguire had scored two in three games before suffering a knee injury in November
Substitute Sean Maguire scored twice on his return as Preston North End came back to beat Bolton Wanderers and end a run of four games without a victory.
Bolton led when David Wheater's initial header was scrambled away but Mark Beevers buried the follow up.
Preston levelled just after the break when Tom Barkhuizen latched on to Callum Robinson's pass to slot home.
Maguire, making his first appearance since injuring his knee in November, won it with two late cool finishes.
Preston's victory means they are now three points off the Championship play-off places with 11 league games left to play, while Phil Parkinson's Wanderers remain in 19th place in the table.
Bolton, who announced the signing of forward Chinedu Obasi on a short-term deal prior to kick-off, could have moved seven points clear of the relegation places had they held on to their early lead.
Maguire's two-goal haul capped a perfect return to form for the 23-year-old striker, whose last appearance was Preston's 2-0 home defeat by Aston Villa on 1 November.
His first goal, with 13 minutes remaining, was a fine near-post strike while his second was a simple tap-in from close range to seal victory in injury-time.
Bolton Wanderers manager Phil Parkinson told BBC Radio Manchester:
"Our home form has been good over a long period but today we have to hold our hands up and say we got beaten by a better side.
"In the first half, in patches, I thought we did all right and had some decent moments but so did they. In the second half we didn't cope with Preston's attacking play.
"They're a good side, up and around the play-offs. We looked disjointed in the second half and sometimes you've got to hold your hands up and say 'we didn't do enough and got beaten by the better side'."
Preston North End manager Alex Neil told BBC Radio Lancashire:
"I'm delighted. I think local derbies are something that fans and everybody connected with both clubs wants to win.
"There aren't many derbies for us this season because Blackpool and Blackburn aren't in our league so it was a big game.
"We're at a point where we need to get back on track. We have 11 games remaining and we need to give ourselves an opportunity to stake a challenge to have a successful season at the top end."
- Published28 February 2018
