Tranmere Reserves conceded three goals in a frantic opening spell as they went down to only a fourth defeat of the season against Preston at Deepdale.

The league leaders went 1-0 up after only four minutes, doubled their advantage on seven minutes and added the third on nine minutes.

It came as a relief to Rovers that Terry Gornell pulled one back after only eleven minutes, but the scoring ended there.

John Mullin completed the full 90 minutes on his return from injury, while trialist Jason Ward was fielded on the right side of midfield. However, regulars Ash Taylor and Aaron Cresswell were missing through injury.

Gornell had another effort ruled out for offside, while Mullin and Craig Curran also came close to scoring.

Reserve Team Coach Shaun Garnett said: "It was a poor first half but we were much better in the second. Both teams had a few chances to score more, and John Achterberg made some good saves in goal for us."

Tranmere: Achterberg, Holmes, Henry, Mitchell, Beahon, Ward (Moran 87), Ahmed, Mullin, Jones, Gornell, Curran. Substitutes not used: McWeeney, Blundell, Corrigan, Macauley.