North End secured their third win in four games to continue a positive start to the season, but Jamie Hoyland was keen for his side to show even more after seeing off the threat of league new boys Morecambe.

Goals from Aaron McCarthy, Matty Mainwaring and substitute Ash Higgins helped to turn the game around after the visitors took a shock third-minute lead - the Lilywhites eventually securing a 3-1 win in a game that they could have won by a hat-full despite the evident quality of the opposition.

Hoyland praised the efforts of his keeper for ensuring that the home side still had a platform to play from after a slow opening, claiming:

"We started off worse than any other game so far this season and Chris Thompson kept us in the game in the first 10-20 minutes of the game. That wasn't so much for what they were doing, it was more a case of our bad defending. All credit to Chris who has come back in for the last two matches and has done excellently.

"A lucky goal got us back into the game and then we really dominated it for about 60 minutes. One thing we didn't do - and I've had a word about it with the lads straight after the game - is kill off the game, even though we had the chances. In the second half we must have had seven or eight good chances and if we'd got a few of them the game would have been over.

"We seemed to be the better side overall, but we should be - we're Preston North End. Without sounding disrespectful, when we're playing the Morecambes, Rochdales and Burys they all seem to approach it like a little bit of a cup final. They all think 'I should be playing there' so we have to raise our game against those teams. We have got better players than most clubs in this league, but they have to remember that there's more to being a footballer than simply going out there and expecting to win every game. It's all about work rate, technical ability, and all the little things that come together to make you a better player."

Morecambe were ahead inside four minutes when Jordan Banks latched onto a deep through ball from defence and left Thompson with no chance after exploiting a large gap at the back to round the keeper and score. The delight was evident for the league's newest side, with mass celebrations seeing the goalscorer mobbed under a crowd of bodies.

Thompson's efforts were key to preventing the home side from falling further behind, with a brave save at the feet of Tom Mills followed by a fine stop to beat away Aaron Taylor's strong effort.

North End seemed to wake up after around twenty minutes, though Dominic Collins' attempted header, cleared off the line by Ste Fitzpatrick, was one of his last contributions before being forced to leave the field through fatigue.

Thompson was forced to save well again from Taylor after Marc Bloxham couldn't connect properly with an attempted headed clearance, but the leveller came as Morecambe keeper Tiernan Kelly endured a moment he'd rather forget. Danny Mayor's trickery down the right left defenders trailing in his wake, and after slipping the ball through a narrow gap, striker Aaron McCarthy tapped an under-hit shot through the keeper's hands.

The lead finally turned in favour of the hosts ten minutes after the break when the otherwise-impressive Christian Zawicki tripped Matty Mainwaring as he shaped to shoot. The award of the free kick 22 yards from goal merely delayed the inevitable, as Mainwaring picked himself up and curled the ball over the wall into the top right corner.

The pressure soon turned onto Morecambe keeper Kelly, but he did well to deny Mayor with a fingertip save and his defence produced handy blocks to prevent further goals from McCarthy and Mike Aspin.

Another chance went begging when Michael Conchie - safely recovered after last week's injury scare - somehow managed to avoid making connection when a headed goal looked inevitable from close range, but PNE's subs wrapped it up with five minutes remaining.

With Morecambe's available resources all camped upfield in search of a precious equaliser, a stroke of fortune fell North End's way, with an attempted Shrimps clearance hitting the referee and providing an excellent chance for Ash Higgins to break forward at pace. Despite having fellow sub Tom Smyth to his left and Danny Mayor to his right in a three-on-three break, he opted to trust his own speed and power, ploughing through the back-line and thumping the third and final goal in off the foot of the right-hand post.

Preston North End: Thompson, Aspin, Shearwood, McMahon, Bloxham, Collins (sub Ciaran Barton 23), Mayor, Fairhurst, Conchie (sub Higgins 69), McCarthy (sub Smyth 80), Mainwaring. Subs not used: Adam Barton, Chris Rodgers.