Record away run sets up Doncaster for derby

Stand-in striker David Syers and David Cotterill gave Rovers a 2-0 interval lead with striker Billy Paynter completing the 3-0 win with a 76th-minute penalty to make it 11 away league games without defeat.

Former Bradford City midfield player Syers set Rovers on their way to avenging a 3-1 home defeat with a first-minute volley.

“It’s a move that we work on in training and it led to me getting there before my man,” he said. “I was trying to help the ball on to the back post and I probably got under it slightly more than I intended to, but when things are going your way you take that bit of luck.

“It got us the start that we wanted and led to a really good performance. I’m delighted with the goal and everything that happened after it.”

Rovers doubled their lead on the half-hour with Cotterill scoring direct from an angled 20-yard free-kick.

“We had a routine that we’ve worked on in training that we were going to use from the free-kick, but their players were in the wrong place for us to do it,” said Syers.

“So he decided to whip the ball in and obviously he’s found the top corner of the net and he’s done it so often this season you can’t just keep saying it’s luck.”

Paynter scored the third from the spot, sending Thorsten Stuckmann the wrong way after Will Hayhurst brought down Kyle Bennett.

Jeffrey Monkana was the pick of a well beaten Preston side.

Victory for Dean Saunders’s side sets them up nicely for tomorrow’s South Yorkshire derby when Sheffield United are the visitors to the Keepmoat Stadium. The teams drew 0-0 earlier in the season and are locked together on 46 points, with the Blades occupying second place on goal difference.

Preston North End: Stuckmann, Mousinho, Huntington (Foster 37), Wright, Buchanon, Monakana, Welsh, Proctor (Byrom 75), Hayhurst, Beavon, Beardsley (Edling 65). Unused substitutes: Cansdell-Sherriff, Cummings, Kane, Simonsen

Doncaster Rovers: G Woods, Quinn, Jones, McCombe, Spurr, Cotterill (Griffin 82), Keegan, Harper, Bennett (Martis 81), Syers Paynter (Husband 88). Unused substitutes: Maxted, Wakefield, Ball, Middleton.

Referee: S Rushton (Berks).

Man of the match: David Syers.