SharePreston North End are back within six points of the Championship play-off positions after a comeback victory over Stoke City.Alfie Devine netted a brace to earn Preston North End a 3-1 win over Stoke City and keep their slim Championship play-off hopes alive.Stoke had taken an early lead through Sorba Thomas, but they could not hold onto it, with a quickfire second-half double from Preston, who ended a four-match losing streak, putting the game out of their reach.It took Thomas just four minutes to break the deadlock as he met Junior Tchamadeu's floated cross with a first-time finish, with the bounce beating Daniel Iverson.Devine then finished off a stunning counter-attack to restore parity 11 minutes later; after intercepting a Stoke long-throw, Devine ran half the length of the pitch before sending a composed finish past Tommy Simkin.Preston began the second half on top, with Lewis Dobbin curling wide, though he soon turned provider, whipping a cross into the near post where Milutin Osmajic glanced his header in after 57 minutes.And on the hour, Devine got his second, collecting Osmajic's slotted pass to chip a wonderful finish over Simkin and into the back of the net.Stoke almost pulled one back late on, but while Jesurun Rak-Sakyi's looping shot was spilled by Iverson, the visitors could not profit, allowing Preston to move within six points of the play-off places.Data Debrief: Preston moving on upPreston have leapfrogged Stoke in the table while moving from 17th to 12th, and avoided losing five games in a row in the same league campaign since the end of 2023-24.It was a clinical performance from Paul Heckingbottom's side, who scored with all three of their shots on target.While it looks a fairly even game on the balance of things (both sides attempted 13 shots), Preston topped the expected goals (xG) battle 2.81 to 0.99 as Stoke struggled in front of goal.Preston North End are back within six points of the Championship play-off positions after a comeback victory over Stoke City.Alfie Devine netted a brace to earn Preston North End a 3-1 win over Stoke City and keep their slim Championship play-off hopes alive.Stoke had taken an early lead through Sorba Thomas, but they could not hold onto it, with a quickfire second-half double from Preston, who ended a four-match losing streak, putting the game out of their reach.It took Thomas just four minutes to break the deadlock as he met Junior Tchamadeu's floated cross with a first-time finish, with the bounce beating Daniel Iverson.Devine then finished off a stunning counter-attack to restore parity 11 minutes later; after intercepting a Stoke long-throw, Devine ran half the length of the pitch before sending a composed finish past Tommy Simkin.Preston began the second half on top, with Lewis Dobbin curling wide, though he soon turned provider, whipping a cross into the near post where Milutin Osmajic glanced his header in after 57 minutes.And on the hour, Devine got his second, collecting Osmajic's slotted pass to chip a wonderful finish over Simkin and into the back of the net.Stoke almost pulled one back late on, but while Jesurun Rak-Sakyi's looping shot was spilled by Iverson, the visitors could not profit, allowing Preston to move within six points of the play-off places.Data Debrief: Preston moving on upPreston have leapfrogged Stoke in the table while moving from 17th to 12th, and avoided losing five games in a row in the same league campaign since the end of 2023-24.It was a clinical performance from Paul Heckingbottom's side, who scored with all three of their shots on target.While it looks a fairly even game on the balance of things (both sides attempted 13 shots), Preston topped the expected goals (xG) battle 2.81 to 0.99 as Stoke struggled in front of goal.