Preston 0-4 West Brom - Baggies win at Deepdale to end North End's unbeaten run
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Alex Mowatt, who spent the whole of last season loan at Middlesbrough, had not found the net since April 2022
West Bromwich Albion enjoyed their best league win of 2023 as they ended high-flying Preston North End's unbeaten start to the season.
Carlos Corberan's side had picked up just three points from their previous four league games, while the Lilywhites had not dropped a point at Deepdale in four outings this season.
But Albion made a nonsense of that as they breezed to victory with first goals of the season for Darnell Furlong and Alex Mowatt, before Matt Phillips sealed victory just past the hour, followed by Kyle Bartley's late fourth.
North End have won more points from losing positions than any other Championship side this season. But Albion have a good track record against their fellow Football League founder members.
They had lost only three of their previous 11 league meetings with Preston - and the hosts never looked like turning this one round.
Right wing-back Furlong got Albion going after just four minutes with a low strike into the bottom corner - his first goal since January.
Darnell Furlong hit his first Albion goal since January
John Swift then played in Mowatt, who fired into far corner on 29 minutes for his first since April 2022.
And Albion's first away win since April, also in Lancashire at Blackpool, looked secure when Phillips bagged his second goal of the season on 62 minutes.
Jed Wallace, utilised again in a forward role, then set up Bartley to add a close-range fourth to deliver Preston's worst home defeat since losing by the same scoreline at home to Norwich in January.
It was Albion's biggest win since Steve Bruce's Baggies beat Barnsley 4-0 at The Hawthorns on the final day of the 2021-22 season - and their best away from home since defeating Cardiff by the same scoreline under Valerien Ismael earlier that season.
Who's next?
Preston face two tough away games next week, both against fellow pacesetters, at Leicester on Wednesday night followed by Ipswich Town on Saturday.
Albion have a home game against Championship bottom club Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday night before their first derby of the season with Birmingham City at St Andrew's on Friday.
Preston boss Ryan Lowe told BBC Radio Lancashire:
"We've been terrific so far this season. We're still in a great position. We've only lost one game. We've only lost three points, not six or nine, so it's not all negatives.
"The lads know they weren't good enough, but we won't linger on it. It's still early doors. I've said that all along. We've now just got to pick ourselves up quickly.
"We'll debrief this game, show the lads on Monday, then move on to the next one. I've told them all I want lots of smiles on faces on Monday morning - and there will be.
"The manner of the defeat was a big disappointment, but credit to the opposition. We were nowhere near the levels I expect from the lads, but you have to remember that West Brom are a really good team full of good players and they're well coached. You can see that."
Albion head coach Carlos Corberan told BBC Radio WM:
"Everyone can beat everyone else in this league. I do not know what will happen in the future. I can only analyse what happened in this game.
"In the other games we have played away, we have played well. It is good we won 4-0 away from home. If we had not, I would have been criticised for playing Jed Wallace up front.
"Sometimes when you do things and it works you are a magical coach - and sometimes it does not work.
"I was delighted to see complete effort and commitment from all the players, and that was exactly what I had been after. I have told the players previously that they need to believe in themselves and that belief was there for everyone to see."