Ben Brereton scored his 17th of the season to give Rovers derby honours at Ewood Park as they edged out Preston North End.

Tony Mowbray’s men are up to fourth after a sixth win in eight games and they have now taken 13 points from a possible 15 since the 7-0 defeat to Fulham.

They improved after the break in awful conditions to seal the win with Brereton’s 54th minute header before holding out for a third successive clean sheet.

Rovers were forced into one change as a side injury ruled out Thomas Kaminski, with Aynsley Pears in for his first league start in over a year.

Both sides lined up in the same formation, but was clear from the off was that conditions were going to have a big part to play.

A swirling wind and rain-drenched pitch saw the ball not running freely in parts of the pitch.

The visitors went closest first, North End captain Alan Browne making a run beyond the Rovers defence but held up by a combination of the puddles and the retreating defenders, he shot wide from 20 yards.

A couple of good moments for Rovers came either side of the 15 minute mark, first Joe Rothwell running clear of the Preston midfield before teeing up Lewis Travis only for him to be on his heels and the chance was gone.

Brereton then pounced on a pass caught in the standing water to break forward but he opted to try and square for strike partner Reda Khadra rather than go for goal himself and the attempted pass was clear.

Darragh Lenihan became the first player in the referee’s notebook for halting a counter-attack with a cynical challenge as clear-cut opportunities failed to arrive.

Ali McCann fired wide from the edge of the box after Jan Paul van Hecke failed to fully clear a right wing cross but there was little for either attack to feed off.

John Buckley’s left foot effort lacked conviction, particularly in the conditions after a Khadra cross wasn’t dealt with, the ball only just reaching the goal.

Pears had enjoyed a comfortable opening half an hour but came to Rovers’ rescue soon after, a well-worked near post corner found the recalled Ched Evans, his hooked effort kept out by the stand-in stopper who was then first to the rebound.

Rovers vented their frustration at referee Gavin Ward after he booked Tony Mowbray for his complaints about giving North End the ball after Rothwell had been blocked off by the official.

The home fans hadn’t had much to get their teeth into up to that point with North End dominating territory in a game devoid of quality and hampered by conditions.

Rovers had started the second half with a greater intensity and got their noses infront 10 minutes after the re-start. Buckley fed Khadra who whipped in a fine inswinging cross from the left that was met by a glancing Brereton header that was placed perfectly inside the far post.

There was an added energy on the back of that, the crowd lifted too, but it was still becoming a real battle with every challenge being hotly contested.

Riis and van Hecke went into the book for a melee that followed a foul by Evans on Lenihan, and as the game continued to be a scrap, Rovers turned to Bradley Johnson off the bench.

Rovers needed to keep their focus and discipline as a string of decisions went against them, referee Ward doing little to enamour himself to the home fans.

Preston made three subs in quick succession, the booking count totting up for both sides, including one for Evans whose protests went too far as the visitors screamed for a penalty when the ball appeared to hit the hand of Nyambe, albeit from point-blank range.

A second would have made it safe and that almost came in the 88th minute, Brereton skipping away from Storey after excellent hold-up play down the left, his effort denied by a great reflex save of Iversen.

Rovers saw off the five added minutes to ensure a third straight clean sheet.

Rovers: Pears, Nyambe,  Lenihan, van Hecke, Wharton, Pickering, Travis, Rothwell (Edun, 85), Buckley (Johnson, 66), Khadra (Dolan, 76), Brereton

Subs: Eastham, Davenport, Clarkson, Butterworth

Preston: Iversen, Olosunde (Ledson, 82), Lindsay, Storey, Cunningham (Sinclair, 78), Earl, Whiteman, Browne, McCann (Johnson, 78), Evans, Riis

Subs: Hudson, Bauer, Rafferty, Maguire