Leicester City’s quality shines through as Preston North End’s first half work counts for nothing

Ryan Lowe’s men will have known their toughest test of the season was potentially in store at the King Power Stadium. The Lilywhites were going to need everyone in all red to stand up and be counted on the night - up against an all blue, star studded Championship side packed with quality. This would require huge levels of organisation, focus and commitment for 90 minutes.

Preston had been leggy and laboured four days prior; a repeat of that was simply not an option here. Leicester’s stadium is a place to behold under the night sky: fire blaring, lights shining and Kasabian songs booming as kick off approaches. That creates a buzz which away teams must look to nip in the bud as quickly as possible - and PNE sure did a solid job of negotiating the first 10 minutes.

Lowe made four changes on the night - three of those enforced as Jordan Storey, Andrew Hughes and club captain Alan Browne all missed out. Ryan Ledson dropped to the bench and in came Jack Whatmough, Greg Cunningham, Ben Whiteman - who took the arm band - and Robbie Brady. Preston were happy to let Leicester have the lion’s share of possession in the first half, as they sat deep in a 4-4-1-1 shape.

And PNE will likely have headed in at the interval the happier of the two teams. Enzo Maresca’s men were limited to next-to-nothing in terms of goal scoring opportunities, while North End carved out encouraging openings in the final third and had the clearest chance through Duane Holmes - who slotted wide from inside the box after being slipped in behind.

There had been a tenacity about the visitors, with Ali McCann relentless in his midfield work and Ben Whiteman bringing a dose of calm and class to the performance - despite PNE seeing far less of the ball. Down the right, Liam Millar was lively and supported excellently by Brad Potts - the two combining nicely on occasions as North End nicked the ball back successfully in Leicester’s half.

And while North End will have taken heart from their first 45 minute shift, a significant second half challenge still awaited them. The Foxes have been used to teams sitting behind the ball and Enzo Maresca had predicted pre-match that his team may have to wait until the final 20 minutes to find a winner.

As it turned out, the hosts struck gold just shy of the hour mark with their first shot on target. McCann seemed first to everything but in this instance it came back to bite him in brutal fashion - his sliding interception in Preston’s box dropping kindly for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who tucked home his fourth goal of the season from a tight angle; a ruthless touch to break down PNE’s resilience.

North End were up against it from that point on, but still in the game with the advantage only one. McCann and Holmes continued to buzz around effectively, high up the pitch, but the moment the Lilywhites craved eluded them. As Lowe prepped a triple change with 15 minutes to go, Leicester substitute Kelechi Iheanacho landed the killer second with a tap in from close range.

Lowe introduced youngsters Noah Mawene and Kian Best - experience which will stay with the duo for some time - but the game was as good as gone once Iheanacho found the back of the net. The damage was not done there, though, with Dewsbury-Hall slotting home again in the final minute after Freddie Woodman had denied an unmarked Iheanacho. A tough scoreline for Preston to take given their first half work, but heads must be kept held high as they get back on the road and head to Ipswich.

PNE XI: Woodman; Whatmough, Lindsay, Cunningham, Potts, Whiteman, McCann (Mawene 78’), Brady (Best 78’), Holmes (Woodburn 78’), Millar (Stewart 84’), Osmajic (Keane 66’)