Chris Iwelumo struck a hat-trick as Wolves downed Preston to move three points clear at the top.
Striker hits hat-trick as nine-man visitors beat Preston
Chris Iwelumo struck a hat-trick but was also dismissed as Wolverhampton Wanderers moved three points clear at the top of the Championship table with a 3-1 win at Preston North End.
Iwelumo, who joined the club from Charlton over the summer, was in inspired form to take his goals tally for the season to eight, but received a second yellow with 14 minutes remaining to take some gloss off his display.
Goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey also saw red for the home side for a professional foul before Neil Mellor stepped up from the resultant penalty to net a consolation for Preston.
The game kicked off 15 minutes late because of traffic problems. Preston were unchanged from the team which beat Nottingham Forest 2-1 on Tuesday, while Wolves made two changes with Iwelumo and Matt Jarvis restored to the starting XI after injury.
Andy Keogh was on the bench for the visitors despite scoring the winner against Crystal Palace in midweek.
Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, who also scored for Wanderers in Tuesday's 2-1 win, put Michael Kightly through in the first real opening of the game but the England Under-21 winger's shot was saved comfortably by Preston goalkeeper Andy Lonergan.
Jon Parkin's challenge on Wayne Hennessey saw the Welsh international fumble after Sean St Ledger flashed the ball across goal but referee Martin Atkinson ignored appeals for handball before Hennessey reclaimed it on the goalline.
Power
Centre-half Richard Stearman was next to go close for Wolves with a long-range half-volley over the bar, and Ebanks-Blake should have gone for power rather than placement after combining with Iwelumo.
Wolves were building up a head of steam and, after Barry Nicholson shot wide for Preston, the early-season pacesetters took the lead.
The home side failed to clear David Jones' corner effectively after Neill Collins had headed against the bar and when Jones fired the ball back in, former Charlton striker Iwelumo scored with a superb overhead kick.
Preston thought they had equalised through Mellor following a quick free-kick but the former Liverpool striker was offside and the goal was ruled out.
He had the ball in the net again moments later after Parkin had hit the post, but that effort was also disallowed after the latter was adjudged to have fouled Stearman.
Mellor carried on where he had left off when the game resumed after the interval. His curling shot was deflected for a corner as the home side pressed for an equaliser.
Burst
Paul McKenna's last-ditch challenge saved North End from falling further behind as Jarvis burst into the box. Keogh replaced Ebanks-Blake with half an hour remaining, before Preston swapped winger Chris Sedgwick for Ross Wallace, on loan from Sunderland.
And it was Mick McCarthy's substitution which worked almost immediately as Keogh combined with Kightly to set up Iwelumo, who swept home the second goal for the visitors after 66 minutes.
The striker could have had his hat-trick seconds later but Lonergan pushed his header wide.
Iwelumo completed his treble from the penalty spot moments later after Billy Jones chopped down Kightly in the area.
But then the former Charlton man spoiled a fabulous day's work when he clashed heads with St Ledger and was shown a straight red card.
Referee Atkinson also sent off Hennessey in injury-time for bringing down Mellor, who stepped up to score from the resulting penalty, but Wolves had already done enough to claim their sixth successive victory.
