Dave Seddon's verdict: Preston North End 2 Coventry City 0 - Lilywhites continue to give City the blues at Deepdale

Preston North End sent them back to East Midlands empty-handed despite struggling to get out of first gear in the first half and only getting better as the evening went on.

This was the 19th time since 1949 that the Sky Blues had come to PR1 in the league and a 19th time they had failed to win. North End can boast 12 victories in that sequence, with them definitely having the sign over City.

During the first half on Tuesday night, Coventry might have wondered if their luck was about to change.

They were the better side in those 45 minutes, much better in fact, however PNE headed into half-time with the lead.

It was an advantage they doubled early in the second half and from that moment on, there was an inevitability as to the outcome.

After such a patchy first three months of the season when consistency was almost a foreign word, things are on more of an even keel for the Lilywhites at the moment.

This was a third victory on the spin, something last done in autumn 2019 around the time they briefly went top of the Championship.

No goals conceded in this trio of matches is also a stat worth a mention, Preston’s defence having tightened-up considerably.

Before Christmas they had shipped the highest number of goals in the division, now three other teams have drawn level with them on that score, with Wycombe having the leakiest defence.

The home form has taken a big turn for the better after that ridiculous run of five straight Deepdale defeats from the start of the season.

It was three wins out of four at home in December, 10 points put on the board. Jutting back further into November, there was the win over Sheffield Wednesday too.

The one fly in the ointment, and a big one it was too, was the derby defeat to Blackburn.

Incidentally, Tuesday’s win lifted North End three points above their Lancashire rivals.

They weren’t at their best against Coventry on a night when the pitch had a glint of white from the frost.

In the first half the visitors played round them at will and looked so comfortable. What Mark Robins’ men didn’t have though, was an end product.

That is where North End trumped them, a rare first-half foray into the Sky Blues box seeing Daniel Johnson score his 50th career goal.

Early in the second half Sean Maguire prodded home a second goal, that the cue for the hosts to be more like themselves and not be given the run-around.

Maguire was PNE’s best performer on the night. The Irishman set up Johnson’s goal and won the free-kick which was to lead to him putting his name on the scoresheet.

His work rate was most impressive, dropping off in search of the ball and eager to close down when Coventry looked to work the ball from the back.

To coin a phrase, he put in a shift and the goal – his fourth of the season – was a reward for that. In defence, Ben Davies and Paul Huntington were good too.

They had been joined in a three-man back line by Andrew Hughes, with Alex Neil opting for a 3-4-1-2 system to roughly match-up Coventry's fluid 3-5-1-1.

On the flip side, skipper Alan Browne had a night he’d rather forget.

He struggled to pick out a team-mate with a pass in the first half and was to come off with a tight calf muscle later on.

Paul Gallagher had an off night too, so with the two sitting midfielders out of kilter, that is why Coventry were able to attack at will.

Johnson’s opener came against the run of play in the 18th minute.

Maguire snapped at the heels of Ben Sheaf on the corner of the box and won possession off the Sky Blues man. His pass inside found Johnson who slipped slightly as he stepped across Leo Ostigard before firing a low shot into the far corner.

Eight minutes of the second half had gone when PNE made it 2-0.

Gallagher’s free-kick from the right was headed down by Andrew Hughes inside the six-yard box. Three Coventry players had a try at clearing before Maguire knocked the ball in from four yards.

North End held Coventry at arms' length from then on, Declan Rudd called into action late on to parry a well-struck shot from Gustavo Hamer - the No.38 was impressive for the visitors, so too right wing-back Fankaty Dabo.

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