 KEVIN NOLAN today thanked Marlon Harewood for allowing him to net the three points at Preston North End and keep up Newcastle United’s promotion charge. The ex-Bolton skipper fired home his ninth of the season to sink the Lilywhites and take United back to the top of the Championship. Harewood played the full 90 minutes at Deepdale and Nolan told the Chronicle: “I just saw it come across, and I asked Marlon to let it come through, and I just tried to hit it across goal. “Thankfully it’s gone exactly where I wanted it to. With the left foot, it normally goes anywhere, but thankfully this time it went in.” And looking back on the three points that put United in control at the top, he said: “I’m absolutely delighted we ground out another win. “It was always going to be tough, but we’ve said if we get a couple of chances, we know we’re going to score another one. “We got the three points, and we’re back to the top of the table.” Nolan dedicated his winner at Preston North End to a close family friend. He said: “A lot of the celebration was for a friend of mine. It was the anniversary of his father’s death on Wednesday, and it was more of an emotional one, because that was dedicated to him. “I wanted to score for him – he’s been my best mate since we were in nappies. “It’s been a tough year, but he’s been brilliant, and it was dedicated to him. “He was 49 – the same age as my dad. He was like one of the family. The jubilation was a lot to do with him.” However, Nolan said the win wasn’t as straightforward as it may have looked. He added: “They had a great chance when Neil Mellor went through, but thankfully he put it wide. “I was delighted to get the goal at the time we did. I think after that we weren’t under too much pressure. “We bossed the game really well, and I was delighted the way we performed. “Obviously, with the quality we’ve got, we’re going to keep on getting opportunities, and if I can keep popping up with goals – match-winning ones are more important – then great. “But as long as we keep winning, that’s the main thing.” | 
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