Often in football, the context of a win can be so much more important than the nature of it, and it feels as though that was certainly the case for Preston North End on Tuesday night.

Going into this clash with promotion chasing Fulham, Alex Neil's side had suffered four straight defeats, a run which had seen them drop out of the play-off places for the first time since August, putting their own hopes of competing for a place in the Premier League this season under threat.

But with that hanging over them, Preston would - not for the first time this season - rally themselves at what is now once again fortress Deepdale, to grind out a deserved win in a game that saw the entire second half played by just ten men for each side.

It is a result that sees Preston haul themselves back into the play-off spots, and leaves Fulham staring at a ten-point deficit to the top two, after back to back defeats, which may now raise questions as to whether this supposed three-horse race for automatic promotion, is already becoming a two-horse race.

With Preston perhaps feeling the pressure given they came into this one off the back of that run, it was Fulham - keen to hit back from their own defeat to Bristol City at the weekend - who started the game on the front foot.

But while the visitors enjoyed much of the early possession and territory, they were unable to really trouble their hosts defence with the exception of a Mitrovic effort dragged just wide from the edge of the area, and a couple of dangerous balls into the North End box from Ivan Cavaleiro and Cyrus Christie, which were well dealt with by the Preston backline.

That failure to make that pressure tell is something that Fulham would live to regret, as Preston took the lead with one of their first forays into the Fulham area midway through the first half, when a corner from Billy Bodin was flicked on to Sean Maguire at the back post, with the Irishman finishing clinically to put North End ahead.

Minutes later, Fulham would find themselves at a disadvantage in terms of men as well, as Dennis Odio would catch Patrick Bauer - the German only just back after two games out with injury - late in the air on the edge of the Preston penalty area, prompting referee Keith Stroud to consult his linesman before electing to brandish a red card in the face of the Fulham full-back.

For a time, that numerical advantage - in both senses - had Preston well in the ascendency, and they could have been further ahead had Rodak not reacted well to deny Maguire a second after a pinpoint through ball into the Fulham box from that man Bodin.

With just minutes remaining in the first half however, the outlook of the game would change again, as numbers on the field were levelled up again, after a studs-up challenge by Joe Rafferty on Joe Bryan on half-way - brought on by Scott Parker in response to Fulham's own red card - saw the Preston man dismissed by Stroud, this time without any discussion with his assistants.

If Preston had been left reeling by that red card for Rafferty, then they didn't show it for long at the start of the second half.

Although Aboubakar Kamara would have the first sight of goal after the break, firing well over from 20 yards, it would be North End who would apply the pressure early in the half, and make it tell.

While David Nugent would be denied by Rodak after being found from Rudd's goal kick after that Kamara effort, the veteran striker's wait for his first goal in a Preston shirt since returning to the club in the summer would not last much longer.

Once again, it would be Bodin who would play a key role, linking up for a brilliant one-two with Brad Potts to break the latter into the Fulham area, and while Rodak would parry that initial effort away, Nugent was on hand to force home the rebound from close range at the second attempt, scoring his 26th goal for the club, 12 years after racking up his 25th for North End, seven minutes into the second half.

That would, for a period, be enough for Preston to settle down and see out this game, with Fulham struggling to break down the North End defence as they went in search of a route back into the game.

Eventually however, those chances would start to come for the visitors as the game entered the final 20 minutes, and for a second, it had seemed as though they wouldn't have needed many to get back into it, as Knockaert's corner found its way to Johansen on the edge of the area, with his curling effort cannoning off the underside of the North End crossbar and away to safety.

Onomah and Mitrovic would then fire efforts of their own wide, before, as the clock ticked down to just ten minutes remaining, Fulham's Mr Reliuable to step up once again.

Some good work from Neeskens Kebano - brought on in place of Alfie Mawson in response to Preston's second goal - saw the attacker lay the ball off to Mitrovic on the edge of the area, with the Serb's deflected effort bouncing into the bottom corner of Rudd's goal to give Fulham a glimmer of hope.

Ultimately however, it would be a case of too little too late for the visitors, with Preston withstanding some late pressure, and even going close to extending their lead through substitute Tom Barkhuizen late on, as Alex Neil's side made a timely return to winning ways in the race for promotion.