Sir Alex Ferguson saw Manchester United suffer their first defeat of pre-season at Preston North End. The United starting XI was mainly youngsters, with the only experience coming from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Kieran Richardson and David Bardsley. Former Red Devil Danny Pugh lashed home a splendid opener early on and Simon Whaley doubled their advantage in the second half. United rallied late on and Solskjaer fired home a penalty which spurred the visitors in action, but they could not find an equaliser.