The recent unbeaten streak came to an end as Preston's luck finally ran out on a wintery afternoon at Deepdale. Prior to kick off a deluge of snow meant the ground staff had to clear the pitch and paint the lines in a pinkish colour.
Bayliss was given his first start in the league whilst Hughes also replaced Earl at left back. Potts played in the attacking three but was absent for much of the game.
Due to the snow the pitch wasn't in the best shape and neither team looked to grab the game in the first half. Despite an encouraging first few minutes for both teams there wasn't a shot on goal with each keeper having a straight forward time.
North End did start the second half better and had a number of chances to take the lead. Johnson forged into the box and his deflected cross ended up at Barkhuizen who had his header well saved.
Moments later Barkhuizen was in the box again when he saw his left footed curler come back off the bar. He then had a further chance when he blasted over.
The misses came back to bite Preston. Forest rarely ventured forward but when they did Fisher, falling to the ground, handled the ball in his own box. The referee gave a penalty.
Grabban took the penalty and slipped. Replays showed that he took a double touch but despite complaints the officials gave the goal as the ball went straight down the middle. If Grabban had kicked the ball correctly it is likely that the ball would have travelled in the same direction as the diving Rudd.
Shortly afterwards Preston were awarded a free kick when Figueiredo handled the ball. No card was given which was fortunate with the Forest player already on a booking.
Preston searched for the equaliser with Davies hitting the bar and Gallagher forcing a save from a free kick in injury time. The home side were unable to score and started the new year with a defeat.