Nottingham Forest beat Preston 3-0 to make it 14 Championship games unbeaten and move level on points with second-placed West Brom.
McKenna, Adebola and McGugan on target as Forest make it 14 games undefeated
Nottingham Forest easily beat Preston 3-0 to make it 14 games unbeaten in the Championship and move level on points with second-placed West Brom.
Paul McKenna scored against his old club in the 16th minute with a 20-yard effort which left Preston keeper Andy Lonergan with no chance.
Dele Adebola then doubled the advantage on 25 minutes when he slipped his maker Neill Collins to slot home Nicky Shorey's cross unmarked at the far post.
Preston came more into the game in the second period and substitute Neil Mellor shot over from close range before Lonergan saved well from Robert Earnshaw at the other end.
But Forest substitute Lewis McGugan make sure of the points when slotting home with nine minutes to go after being played through by Shorey.
The win means former Preston boss Billy Davies' side are now level on points with second-placed West Brom at the top.
On course
The Reds have now scored 12 goals in their last three home matches and look firmly on course to challenge for automatic promotion.
Forest bossed the first half and took just 16 minutes to take the lead through McKenna, who spent 12 years at Deepdale before joining Forest for £750,000 in the summer.
The goal came after winger Chris Cohen swung in a corner from the right and Lonergan punched the ball clear to McKenna, who took a touch and unleashed a fine right-footed strike from 20 yards that found the far corner of the net.
Out of respect for his former employers McKenna chose not to celebrate his first goal for Forest, but he was showing no sentiment with a commanding midfield display.
Forest were then two goals to the good after 25 minutes when Earnshaw took a short corner and the ball was worked to Shorey, whose left-footed cross was turned in by the unmarked Adebola.
Richard Chaplow had an opportunity to pull a goal back but the former West Brom midfielder lashed a shot wide of the near post after breaking into the penalty area.
Preston winger Ross Wallace's cross from the right floated narrowly wide of the far post, but it was Forest who continued to look the more dangerous going forward.
Threat
Paul Anderson was a threat on the left flank and after a flowing move he broke into the box but Lonergan got down well to save his left-footed strike.
The Lilywhites almost pulled a goal back six minutes before the break but Forest keeper Lee Camp did well to come out and put pressure on Chris Brown and the ball fell into the path of Billy Jones, who rifled a vicious right-footed drive which the agile Camp turned away for a corner.
Substitute Mellor should have pulled a goal back after 63 minutes when Wallace pulled the ball back from the byline but the striker volleyed over the bar from six yards out.
Forest almost added a third when Earnshaw raced clear 14 minutes from time, but Lonergan bravely saved to thwart the striker.
But Earnshaw's replacement McGugan did make it three nine minutes from time when he beat his man on the edge of the area and slotted the ball through Lonergan's legs.
