Ian Baraclough expressed his delight after Scunthorpe beat Preston 3-2 for their first win in seven.
Scunny boss overjoyed at thrilling victory over fellow strugglers
Ian Baraclough could not hide his delight after Scunthorpe ended an run of six matches without victory with a thrilling 3-2 win at Preston.
The Iron drew first blood in the battle of the Championship strugglers when Chris Dagnall opened the scoring in the fourth minute with a speculative low shot.
North End were booed off at the break but responded with two goals in six second-half minutes through defenders Craig Morgan and Billy Jones to lead 2-1.
Yet moments later midfielder Michael O'Connor drew Scunthorpe with a fine free-kick and winger Martyn Woolford tapped home the winner with eight minutes remaining to move Iron up to 18th and leave Preston second-bottom.
"It's a massive win," said Baraclough.
"I said to the players before the game that Preston are below us and I want them to be below us at the end of the game. That's exactly what I got from the players.
"They put in a great performance and the lads that came in did great.
"I couldn't have asked for any more and to come back from 2-1 down was a great performance.
"It was a great free-kick by Michael O'Connor and a great finish by Martyn Woolford for the third goal."
Sears praise
The visitors were buoyed by the presence of West Ham striker Freddie Sears, who was handed his debut after joining on a month's loan.
The 20-year-old has struggled for regular first-team football at Upton Park but he was a menace throughout and his performance earned him lavish praise from Baraclough.
"I thought Freddie was great," added the Iron boss. "He came and met the lads this morning and then put in a performance like that.
"I'm very, very pleased with him. He made some intelligent runs and linked up well with the midfield and with Chris Dagnall.
"The agreement with West Ham for Freddie is just one month but we would like a longer-term deal."
A fourth home defeat of the season left Preston staring at the dismal prospect of a relegation dogfight.
They have conceded 26 league goals in 12 games and only Bristol City are keeping them off the foot of the division.
"It's a game that tests you at times," said manager Darren Ferguson. "Individual errors have cost us again.
Comical winner
"At 2-1 everyone thinks we are going to go on and win it. But we don't give ourselves a chance.
"Mistakes have cost us for the free-kick, which should have been saved, and the third goal was comical.
"We haven't been carved open but individual errors are something that have happened throughout the season.
"It's important a gap doesn't develop (at the bottom)," he added.
"Two or three wins in this league and you can move up the table quite quickly.
"At times I need picking up as well, but it's my job to pick the players up."
