Preston North End 2 Coventry City 1 match report: Patrick Bauer and Emil Riis deliver much-needed PNE win at Deepdale

Frankie McAvoy's men trailed to Tyler Walker's 45th minute goal, the Sky Blues having had the better of the first half..

It looked like being a long night for North End but a very good second-half show in which they raised the tempo of their play, flipped the game on its head.

Patrick Bauer rose to meet Ben Whiteman' s cross and power home a header for the equaliser in the 61st minute.

Then eight minutes later, Emil Riis rifled a shot into the roof of the net after cutting inside on the left of the box.

North End comfortably saw the game out after that to bring a much-needed three points as they turn their attention to Saturday's derby with Blackpool.

They really do have the sign over Coventry at Deepdale, the 20 league meetings between the sides here seeing 13 PNE wins and seven draws.

The way things went in the first half suggested that pattern could change before Bauer and Riis intervened.

North End had the first chance of the game in the third minute, Whiteman's corner from the right met by Jordan Storey who angled a header goalwards, keeper Simon Moore diving to his left to parry.

Coventry began to stamp their mark on proceedings, the Sky Blues looking fluid in their movement and causing the PNE back line plenty of issues.

Storey blocked a shot from Viktor Gyokeres after Callum O'Hare had pulled the ball back into his path from the right-wing, then a Gustavo Hamer corner bounced off the near post after it had been delivered low.

Iversen then dealt with a O'Hare free-kick at the near post.

North End fashioned a chance in the 24th minute, Alan Browne and Daniel Johnson working the ball across the face of the box to find Josh Earl down the left hand side of the box.

Perhaps Earl should have shot first time but he checked inside on his right foot to open up the angle and fired over the bar.

A shot from Walker was blocked by Andrew Hughes sliding across, the Welshman's interception taking it behind for a corner.

Coventry broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time with a goal which North End should have cut out well before it got to scorer Walker.

Fankaty Dabo's pass found O'Hare down the right channel, the midfielder evading a couple of chances before his pass found Walker just inside the box.

Even then there was time to close down Walker before he pulled the trigger on a good finish into the roof of the net.

Six minutes into the second half, Browne was tripped by visiting skipper Liam Kelly as he bore down the middle of the pitch.

Kelly was booked, Whiteman taking the resulting free-kick 30 yards out and seeing it deflected for a corner.

Riis saw a low shot from the edge of the box go behind off a Coventry leg, the resulting corner from Whiteman headed over by Storey.

North End equalised in the 61st minute as a spell of pressure in which they had raised the tempo of their play, paid off.

Whiteman delivered a corner into the box which was cleared by the Coventry defence, the ball coming back to Whiteman on the right.

His cross was met by Bauer who got above his marker in the air and angled a fine header back across the keeper and into the bottom corner.

Their next attack almost brought a second goal, Browne's header at the far post touching off keeper Simon Moore and behind.

A second goal was to come in the 69th minute and what a fine one it was.

Browne fed a quickly taken free-kick into Riis on the left hand side of the box. Afforded a bit of space to work in, the Dane moved the ball on to his right foot and hammered a shot into the roof of the net at the near post.

Coventry made a triple substitution five minutes after conceding Riis' goal. North End went for a double change in the 79th minute, Tom Barkhuizen and Brad Potts coming on for Scott Sinclair and Johnson.

Late on, Barkhuizen led a counter-attack down the right but when he fed the ball into the middle, Potts' shot was blocked.

PNE: Iversen, Storey, Bauer, Hughes, van den Berg, Browne, Whiteman, Earl, Johnson (Potts 79), Sinclair (Barkhuizen 79), Riis (Murphy 85). Subs (not used): Lindsay, Cunningham, Ledson, Rudd.

Coventry: Moore, Rose, McFadzean, Hyam, Dabo, Hamer, Kelly (Sheaf 74), O'Hare (Allen 74), Maatsen, Gyokeres (Waghorn 74), Walker. Subs (not used): Clarke-Slater, Kane, Shipley, Wilson.

Referee: Darren England (Barnsley)

Attendance: 10,837 (1,198 away)

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