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Boss Cesar Peixoto praised two-goal Fer Lopez after Wolves put Preston to the sword with a 3-1 victory at Deepdale. The Spaniard fired Wanderers ahead with an eighth-minute rocket and tapped in an 82nd-minute second, either side of a goal from substitute Adam Armstrong, before Jordan Thompson’s long-range consolation. Peixoto said of Lopez: “[It was an] amazing performance but he needs the team to work with him to put the balls between the lines for him, for him to attack the space. “He does a great job. He has a lot of quality. I think Fer’s challenge is to put this kind of quality during the 90 minutes and feel comfortable with the idea of the game. “I am happy with the performance. In the first half it was a little more difficult because we had the better chances but we only scored one goal. “In the second half we managed the pressure of the opponent well and we played like I wanted with the ball, tracked the team, exploiting the space, and changing the rhythm of the game. “We scored two goals in the second half but I think we could have scored more.” Wolves had not won a competitive match on the road since beating Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford in April 2025, and Peixoto heaped praise on the packed-out away end. He added: “A lot of people came to support the team. It’s very important we stay together because this Championship is very tough. “I think [the win is] important because the supporters take more confidence in this team. The team takes more confidence with the way they’re playing.” Preston manager Paul Heckingbottom felt his side fell short, conceding errors in the goals were crucial against a team who only recently suffered relegation from the Premier League. He said: “We knew we’d have to get everything 100 per cent right to beat them. The quality is undoubted. “We can see that but we’ve played against teams before that have had the quality without the intensity and the hunger and I thought they had that and that makes it a tough day. “We were going to make changes just before they scored [their second] but the quality they’re bringing on and the depth they’ve got [compared] to us is different at the minute. “They’re mistakes. We have to be flat out. Liam [Lindsay] overcommits, genuine error, wants to win the ball. “Jordan [Storey] could come over a bit earlier and stop the shot but we have to try and play that way or we’re just sitting in our box and allowing them to have the ball all the time. “The second goal’s done at the top of the pitch but then it’s sort of fortunate how they get the ball. Sometimes that goes against you, being opened up by a risky pass, and they’ve got the quality.” Milutin Osmajic was left out of the squad and the Montenegrin looks set to depart Deepdale having been at the club since 2023, with Genoa heavily linked with a move. “I think we’ve agreed a fee with an Italian team,” Heckingbottom said, before confirming any transfer fee would be allocated to the club’s budget.