[themaclad]

Are you trying to throw away a playoff place?

We know our place usually 14th

Wayne Rooney was once again at his influential best as his delightful free-kick earned in-form Derby County a win over Preston North End that takes them to within a point of the Championship play-off places.

The 34-year-old former England captain curled in the only goal to secure a fifth successive league victory and consign fellow promotion hopefuls Preston to a fifth loss in a six-game winless run.

Rooney was the key figure, orchestrating most of his side's best moments in a victory that could easily have been by a greater margin.

North End's chances of celebrating becoming the first club to play 5,000 league games in English football with a win to reignite their own fading top-six aspirations never seemed likely despite an improved second-half performance and some strong late pressure.

Paul Gallagher had a fierce strike blocked and Alan Browne trickled a shot wide under pressure before the break, but the hosts managed just one effort on target throughout, as they slipped to a loss that sees them drop below the Rams to ninth in the table, still four points adrift of the top six.