It was an accident waiting to happen and Phil Prosser did not disappoint.

The referee so maligned by Albion fans launched the Seagulls towards a comprehensive sixth defeat in succession against impressive Preston.

Prosser almost sparked a riot at Withdean two years ago when he awarded Sheffield United a couple of late penalties.

He gave another spot-kick against the Seagulls in the 31st minute at Deepdale last night, when Gary Hart felled Preston's American winger Eddie Lewis.

The penalty decision itself, amazingly the sixth conceded by the Seagulls in their last five away games, was straightforward enough and beyond dispute.

The grey area was the accompanying red card for Hart for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity.

That was certainly open to debate, since there was cover behind Hart as Lewis shaped to shoot.

It would be unfair to suggest the incident cost Albion a result but it certainly altered the complexion of the contest.

Although on the back foot from the start, the Seagulls had restricted chances for Preston to a minimum up to that point.

Once they were a man down and a goal down, Graham Alexander scoring from the spot, the outcome was inevitable.

Further goals either side of half-time from the prolific Richard Cresswell and David Nugent kept Preston firmly on course for the play-offs.

A miserable night in Lancashire for Albion was completed by results elsewhere, Gillingham's draw at QPR and Cardiff's win at Stoke dropping them into the bottom three.

McGhee decided it was time for a more cautious approach so, together with Richard Carpenter's return from a three-match ban, he gave Nathan Jones only his third start of the season on the left side of a five-man midfield.

Leon Knight and Mark McCammon were dropped to the bench, offering more firepower in reserve.

With Adam Virgo left to forage alone upfront, Preston enjoyed plenty of early possession. It was almost as if Albion were telling their high-flying hosts "break us down if you can".

There was nothing remotely resembling a chance for either team until the 19th minute, when a long ball from the right flank by Alexander released Nugent in behind Joe Dolan. Fortunately for the Seagulls, the Preston striker did not appreciate the time and room he had as he failed to test Alan Blayney.

The problem for Albion was that, as the first half wore on, Preston's dominance grew and they were being forced deeper and deeper.

Paul McKenna twice shot narrowly wide from just outside the area, Lewis failed to connect with a cross by Brian O'Neil and Nugent got in the way of strike partner Cresswell when he threatened to meet with a centre from Chris Lucketti.

When Preston's pressure was rewarded just past the half hour, Albion were once again shaking their heads in disbelief at another refereeing decision.

Hart brought down Lewis inside the box to continue the horror run of penalty concessions for the Seagulls on their travels.

They could not complain about the spot kick but Prosser's decision to also send Hart off when it was by no means clear he was the last man looked extremely harsh.

Hart was still making his way off the pitch when Alexander sent Blayney the wrong way from the spot.

An already difficult task for Albion had been made virtually impossible and that was certainly the case on the stroke of half-time when their deficit doubled.

Cresswell turned in a left wing cross from Lewis from close range, his 19th goal of the season in all competitions and third in as many games against the Seagulls.

Albion had come from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 on their previous visit to Deepdale a couple of seasons ago. They had a full complement then and, being a man down as well, there was no realistic prospect of a repeat.

With half of the match remaining, it was not a case of if they would lose so much as by how many. Preston poured forward straight after the break and they did not have to wait long to stretch their lead.

The third goal arrived in the 51st minute, Nugent finishing off a slick move when he swept in McKenna's cross.

Albion's game plan had, by now, been well and truly blown apart. McGhee would have hoped to introduce Knight and McCammon while his side were still in contention. Instead they came on simultaneously at the expense of Jones and Dean Hammond as soon as the third goal went in.

A black cat scampered on to the pitch shortly afterwards. It was certainly not a sign of luck for Albion as Preston marked the 83rd birthday celebrations of their former England legend Tom Finney in fitting style.

All is by no means lost for Albion. Watford in particular are falling fast and it is extremely tight at the bottom.

The main concern is that the Seagulls did not look like scoring last night, even before Prosser condemned them to a numerical disadvantage.

  • ALBION (4-5-1); Blayney 8; Reid 6, Dolan 6, Butters 6, Harding 6; Hart 5, Oatway 6, Carpenter 6, Hammond 5, Jones 5; Virgo 6.Subs: Nicolas, Knight for Jones (withdrawn, 52), Shaaban, McCammon for Hammond (withdrawn, 52), El-Abd for Dolan (withdrawn, 64).
  • Albion bookings: Dolan (26) foul, El-Abd (86) foul.
  • Albion scorers: None.
  • PRESTON (4-4-2); Nash; Alexander, Mawene, Lucketti, Davidson, Sedgwick, McKenna, O'Neil, Lewis, Nugent, Cresswell. Subs: Ward, Davis for Davidson (withdrawn, 80), Folly for O'Neill (withdrawn, 84), Agyemang for Sedgwick (withdrawn, 73), Hill.
  • Preston bookings: None.
  • Preston scorers: Alexander (31, penalty), Cresswell (45), Nugent (51).
  • Fans' view Bill Arnold (Bradford) - It was a definite penalty but their player was too wide for Gary Hart to be sent off. The sending off and the second goal just before half-time killed us off. Some of the other teams near the bottom have got to play each other, which should help us, and Crewe are certainly on a bit of a downer.

Gus Nunneley (Shoreham) - We set out with a defensive policy which worked for 25 minutes but these penalties just seem to keep coming along to haunt us. We were really second to the ball in all departments either side of half-time. One bright spot is certainly the goalkeeper (Alan Blayney) who has been impressive.

Paul Cook (Brighton) - I fear we are going down because we simply aren't good enough. Yet again we've been dishing out contracts to players, some of whom are clearly not up to Championship standard and probably never will be, so it is hardly surprising we can't afford any better players to replace them.

Scott Ford (Preston fan) - We are doing much better than most of us dared hope. I'm sure the Brighton fans who saw us down there early in the season will be surprised by how much we've improved. Brighton looked pretty desperate to me and will do very well to stay up if they keep playing like that.