Mikey Johnston's sumptuous strike set West Bromwich Albion on their way to a much-needed home victory as they moved up to fourth in the Championship with an impressive win over Preston North End.

Johnston smashed home a fabulous 25-yard strike in a chance-laden first half as the hosts looked to secure just a second league success in five games at The Hawthorns.

Isaac Price curled home a delightful second after the break to seemingly settle nerves after a poor run of three defeats in five had seen the Baggies drop out of the play-off places.

But in-form Preston, who had climbed to fourth in the table before kick-off following a five-match unbeaten run, hit back when Daniel Jebbison found fellow substitute Michael Smith for a simple tap-in with 12 minutes remaining.

But a breathless game, that ended with a total of 33 attempts on goal, produced no further change to the scoreline to ensure Ryan Mason's Baggies moved above North End by a point in the table - despite some intense pressure during 11 minutes of added time.

The home win did not look in doubt when Price found the top corner to double the lead earned by Johnston's powerful opener, but a bold quadruple substitution with just over 20 minutes to go breathed new life into North End who could easily have ended the game with a draw.

Both sides created chances aplenty throughout an open first half and both keepers were busy. Preston's Daniel Iversen made a fine double save to deny Price, while Johnston went close on a couple of occasions.

Baggies number one Josh Griffiths also had to be at his best to push away a Milutin Osmajic attempt and field a stinging strike from Ben Whiteman, while boss Paul Heckingbottom was furious that claims for a penalty were waived away when Harrison Armstrong challenged Toby Collyer.

Lewis Dobbin shot narrowly over the bar soon after the resumption as the visitors pressed to cancel out Johnston's strike, and although Price struck to make it 2-0, Smith's simple 78th-minute effort brought hope and late drama.

North End so nearly snatched a draw with Jebbison forcing a great save from Griffiths deep into stoppage time, but Preston could not avoid succumbing to a 16th away league defeat in 18 games against the Baggies.

West Bromwich Albion boss Ryan Mason told BBC Radio WM:

"We played a good game against really good opposition. They put a lot of energy into the game, are physical and are good with the ball as well. They caused us problems.

"It's really important to win games of football at home. We have not made our performances count at home so far this season.

"The fans were amazing. They were really with the players and certainly helped us get over the line.

"Sometimes in tight games you need moments of brilliance and we had two moments today."

Preston North End boss Paul Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Lancashire:

"It was a tight one. I'm pleased with how we approached the game. We know how fine the margins are in this league.

"But we didn't take our moments and one big decision, which the ref got wrong [a Preston claim for a first-half penalty], went against us

"They scored two really good goals in terms of the finishing. But we could have defended better.

"We went toe-to-toe with a good team and I was pleased with the mentality. We looked like a good team. We gave Mikey Johnston too much space in the first half but we corrected that and the subs had an impact."