But, it was City's former Preston favourite Jon Macken who took the plaudits, scoring on his return to his former home ground as City ran out 3-1 winners.
Macken netted after 20 minutes and Laurent Charvet doubled the lead just after the hour mark.
Prestons Scotland international Graham Alexander netted from the penalty spot four minutes later, but City midfielder Chris Shuker scored their third with three minutes left.
Talking after the game City boss Kevin Keegan said: "It has been a really good exercise for us. We've ended up winning it but, regardless of the score, we've got a lot of plusses and probably some minuses as well."