Preston North End kept up their charge for a play-off place with an impressive win over Middlesbrough at the Riverside on Wednesday evening.
Alex Neil’s men made it two wins on the spin, extending their unbeaten run to 11 matches.
The victory sees the Lilywhites move ahead of Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday in the table to ninth, just two points off Derby County in sixth.
Middlesbrough took the lead at the Riverside before two second-half goals completed the comeback to secure all three points.
And Paul Gallagher’s influence was supreme throughout.
He was the main man for North End as they overcame a one-goal deficit to see of their promotion rivals.
The 34-year-old rolled back the years with a virtuoso performance that lasted 75 minutes before he was substituted.
He restored parity 12 minutes before coming off with a strike in the 63rd minute that rallied Preston and sparked them into life.
Gallagher had two shots, scoring with 50 per cent of those on target with his other shot wayward.
Despite scoring, his influence was not in front of goal it was in the middle of the pitch where he dominated to give his side the edge.
He had 9.7 per cent possession during the game – the most of any player on either side.
With the ball, he managed 92 touches – the most by any player by 16, and 22 more touches than the George Friend who had the most for the hosts.
Having had that much individual possession, Gallagher was efficient on the ball – completing 78.9 per cent of his passes.
The 34-year-old completed 60 of his 76 passes – attempting the most passes in the game by 16 and the most by nine when completing an accurate pass.
His dominance on the ball was there for all to see – and the stats back that up further.
Gallagher also managed the most key passes in the match with three
Preston’s win was largely down to the endeavour and proficiency of the veteran midfielder that was on display.
If he can keep those types of performances up between now and the end of the season, then they have every chance of breaking into the top-six.