Panners tie it up

Martin Laidlaw opened the scoring before setting up Mark Pagliarulo to give the home side a two-goal cushion at half-time.

Sean McAuley, who returned to the club two weeks ago after a spell with Spartans, grabbed a third midway through the second half to wrap up the victory.

Preston were held to a 1-1 draw last Saturday against their opponents from Dumfries and Galloway despite having a glut of second-half chances to finish the tie at the first time of asking, and manager Stevie Myatt was satisfied to have avoided any slip-ups at the Pennypit.

"The biggest thing for us was keeping a clean sheet. One of our problems recently has been giving away silly goals. Last week we allowed Newton Stewart back into the game with a goal we shouldn't have allowed. At the weekend we had more discipline about the team, and although we didn't control the whole match, I was pleased that we kept a clean sheet and took a few more of our chances.

"Last week it was all us in the second half but we just couldn't get the ball into the back of the net."

The replay started at a hurried pace, and both teams had the ball in the back of the net within in the opening four minutes. Newton Stewart were denied the opener after Andrew McGowan's strike was ruled offside. Two minutes later Preston had the ball in the back of the net at the other end of the park but the referee ruled out the goal for an infringement on the goalkeeper. Both the decisions seemed fair.

In the fifth minute Greg McColl played a nice ball up to Pagliarulo and the Preston striker unleashed a shot from 15 yards which the Newton Stewart keeper could only parry. Stuart Miller picked up the spilled ball but dragged his shot wide of the open goal.

Laidlaw gave Preston the lead in the 15th minute, dribbling in from the left wing and fending off his marker before scoring with a sure-footed strike into the bottom right hand corner of the net.

Five minutes later Kyle Collins cracked a long-range effort off the left upright.

In the 32nd minute, Preston keeper Ross Gilpin did well to race out of his goal to block a Callum Dunn strike, and Sean Taylor pulled his follow up wide.

Preston doubled their lead in the 37th minute. Laidlaw threaded the ball through to Pagliarulo, who lashed the ball into the net from ten yards.

Four minutes later captain Craig Scott came within a whisker of adding to the tally after heading a Chris Barton corner onto the crossbar.

Preston wrapped up the tie in the 67th minute. Stuart Miller stepped up to take a spot kick awarded for handball in the box, but Newton Stewart keeper Dale Leith dived to his left to make a comfortable stop. However, the loose ball was left unattended by the Newton Stewart defence, who seemed to forget the ball was still in play. Barton nipped in to cut the ball back into the six-yard box, and after a goalmouth scramble Sean McAuley steered it into the net.

Alaistair Fisher was given his marching orders in the 80th minute after needlessly bringing down Collins in the middle of the park to earn his second booking of the match. It had little effect on the play, as the visitors had in any case been struggling to find a way back into the game since the interval.

Preston can now look forward to a home tie against former East of Scotland rivals Annan Athletic in three weeks, as the East Lothian club bid to reach the third round for the first time in their history.

The Panners have one scalp over SFL opposition to their name, a 2-1 win over Stenhousemuir four seasons ago and after Saturday's win boss Myatt can now start plotting another.

He said: "We now can look forward to the game against Annan. They are playing well in Division Three and it will be a tough match, but it's always nice to get a home draw."

Preston: Gilpin, Barton, Lee, McCaul, Scott, McColl (McAuley 54), Lothian, Collins, Miller (Leighfield 84), Pagliarulo, Laidlaw (Duthie 70). Subs: Houston, Thomson.

Newton Stewart: Leith, Walsh, Beggs, Gallagher, Richardson, Fisher, Smith (Ross 70), Blain, Sean Taylor, McEwan (Dunn 11), Cloy. Subs: Wilson, Stewart Taylor, Fidler.

Preston Athletic 3

Newton Stewart 0