Beckford bags Preston the points

Jermaine Beckford's first league goal for Preston earned them a 1-0 victory at Peterborough and ensured his boss brought up a century in style.Beckford, on loan from Bolton, collected a pass from Kevin Davies, breezed between two defenders and coolly clipped the ball past goalkeeper Ben Alnwick in first-half stoppage time.And that proved enough to ensure Simon Grayson's 100th match at the North End helm was a winning one as free-falling Posh slumped to a fourth successive home league defeat.Grayson, who took charge of Preston in January 2013, had earlier seen Paul Gallagher's early shot crash back off the crossbar before defender Paul Huntington steered a free header from a Gallagher corner over the crossbar.Peterborough offered little after Erhun Oztumer had seen a second-minute free-kick saved. North End keeper Thorsten Stuckmann blocked bravely after a Huntington error had let in Aaron Mclean early in the second half and Mclean was off target with the hosts' best chance of all when slamming strike-partner Craig Mackail-Smith's cross wide with 15 minutes to go.