Preston North End 1-0 Portsmouth: Alfie Devine header the difference in tense affair

Preston North End secured their first win in six games after a 1-0 victory over Portsmouth at Deepdale on Saturday.

The game wasn’t exactly a classic but was instead a close-fought game which required a moment of quality to settle it. Alfie Devine provided a hard-working PNE with exactly that on 40 minutes, converting a top-drawer header after a Andrija Vukcevic cross.

Portsmouth applied pressure late on but the Lilywhites took all three points. It was exactly the result and gutsy performance that Paul Heckingbottom’s side, now seventh and level on points with sixth-placed Wrexham, needed after a challenging few weeks off and on the pitch.

Pompey started well, forcing North End’s back line into some brave blocks and strong clearances, while PNE’s attacks just lacked that crucial final ball as Lewis Dobbin and Vukcevic’s promising cross-field switches in the opening 10 minutes failed to find a man in white, before Devine’s effort was charged down.

After a quiet opening half hour, Portsmouth had loud claims for a penalty waved away by referee Adam Herczeg when Lewis Gibson made a crunching challenge on Adrian Segecic.

On 38 minutes, Devine’s strike from outside the box took a wicked deflection off Terry Devlin that almost saw it creep into the net but it whistled just wide. Dobbin’s strike soon after was straight into the clutches of Nicolas Schmid.

Devine looked, by far, North End’s most threatening player and, 40 minutes in, he broke the deadlock. A whipped cross from Vukcevic found the Tottenham Hotspur loanee whose pinpoint header nestled into the top right corner.

Pompey had the chance to immediately fire back though; they forced a chance straight from the restart and Andre Dozzell struck hard and low towards the goal, but the reverse fixture’s match-winner saw his effort saved well by a full-stretch Dai Cornell.

After the break, Dobbin had a terrific solo chance to make it two after receiving the ball around 40 yards from goal. He turned, beat his man for pace and broke into the area but his shot was from a tight angle and only found the side netting.

North End were unable to truly capitalise on a couple of nervy moments at the back for Portsmouth with Schmid cleared his lines frantically on two occasions as PNE broke forward. Ben Whiteman made a top-class block on 12 yards to deny Segecic just past the midpoint of the second half.

The second half had, for the most part, been much like the first, with very few clear cut chances and with the defences on top. However, Portsmouth ramped up the pressure in the closing 15 minutes. After a half-cleared corner, Zak Swanson sent in a dangerous ball across the goalmouth which found Ebou Adams. With a crowd of Lilywhites players surrounding him, the midfielder saw his shot stifled before Millenic Alli saw two shots denied, the first blocked and the second kept out by Cornell. PNE eventually hooked the ball clear.

Deadline day signing Andrew Moran made a brief debut, coming on with three minutes of regular time to go, and he helped his new side get over the line in the closing stages.

Connor Ogilvie saw one final Portsmouth chance saved brilliantly by Cornell, who had tipped a direct corner delivery onto the woodwork seconds earlier. Moran could have scored and recorded a dream debut as he was slipped through on the counter-attack in the dying seconds, but Schmid saved his low effort.

Attendance: 16,034 (1,785 away). Preston North End starting XI: Cornell; Offiah, Storey, Gibson, Small, Whiteman (c), McCann (Thompson 75’), Vukcevic (Valentin 60’), Devine, Dobbin (Moran 87’), Lukovic (Smith 46’). Unused subs: Walton, Lewis, Nolan, Nelson, Mawene.