I watched Preston North End find another gear to see off Sheffield Wednesday - one moment mustn't be forgotten

I can certainly understand why this was Paul Heckingbottom's favourite win yet as Preston North End manager. I thought the team edged the first half due to superior application and they took the lead through Emil Riis, who scored another goal inside the six-yard box. It perhaps goes down as a 'scruffy' finish but that has to be labelled as a compliment; he finished under a little bit of pressure and it ended up in the back of Sheffield Wednesday's goal. The ball from Ali McCann and headed assist from Jack Whatmough deserve recognition.

I felt Sheffield Wednesday, like in the first game at Hillsborough, seemed to be playing with a little bit of vanity in the first half and not much purpose. I did think Barry Bannan had too much time on the ball and there was not enough pressure on him to stop him passing the ball forwards. But, obviously many have tried to stop him doing that over a number of years and not been successful. Eventually, McCann wore him down I thought and we gradually saw Bannan move further and further back - into a non-threatening position. I did expect the Owls to get better after half time - like at Hillsborough - and they did that.

For me, there was far too much impetus and encouragement for Wednesday - allowed by North End - before the goal from Josh Windass. But, what felt like quite quickly, North End's team and supporters wrestled the game back on to their terms. I am sure Paul Heckingbottom has probably not felt as comfy in the last 15 minutes of a fixture as that, this season. I found the second half quite watchable and that is because North End’s application was matched by Wednesday. In the first half I thought they were very lame with their leg work, but when they decided to run around second half it made it a better game.

They equalised of course but what I did find really encouraging was that - as Wednesday quickened up and worked harder - North End found another gear to get that second goal. I think we should mention Josh Bowler at this point. He gave Preston that little bit of something different, which North End will have been hoping for when he signed. He can only get better with games, fitness and confidence. Instead of being in around the half-way line at that moment, he was in the final third and travelled into the box with his talent.

He drew the foul from the Wednesday man to get the penalty and Sam Greenwood dispatched it. Bowler should be fresh and he can do things with the ball that others can't. He has that unpredictability. Sheffield Wednesday were well in the game and that bit of quality dribbling won the penalty and got the game back in Preston's favour. That alone was as big a contribution as anything in the game. All he will have craved is increased opportunity and he certainly did himself no harm with his contribution, both with and without the ball.

Greenwood was a player playing full of confidence and appetite on the day. He hit the crossbar, struck two stinging shots at the goalkeeper and then Riis was on hand to score a poacher's goal for his second - which clearly took the game away from Sheffield Wednesday and gave some daylight for North End in the score line. My instinct with Greenwood is that he will always have been rated in his career and respected in his dressing rooms. But, I just feel that at this point of his career it probably feels the most he has been trusted with starts, responsibility and the opportunity to be the best player at a football club.

Despite his talent he has possibly never been that before; he may have been in the ability and potential mode, but not as trusted as he is at North End. At the moment, I think it is a good fit for both. In Riis, North End have a goal scorer and he is scoring different types of goals. We know he can run down the side of defenders and shoot across goal, we have seen him score with headers and he is never short of hard work. Including his age, the fact he is probably now back to full fitness and the manager can manage his minutes with the other centre-forwards at the club, he will possibly feel like he is approaching the peak of his powers.

I certainly think North End have got an asset and he would be a miss if he left. Again, I thought it was a team effort but I should also mention - it all happened very quickly but shouldn't be forgotten - that when Windass found himself through and looked certain to score his second goal of the game, Freddie Woodman came out and blocked. It was, quite simply, as good as a goal in itself. That really helped PNE go on to increase their lead and get the three points.

As for the coaching terminology of being good in both boxes... there was no better advert for that than Whatmough on the day. I don't think you will see a better version of it than what he displayed. That is where football games are often decided. We saw last-ditch defending and blocks from Jordan Storey and that was outstanding in those moments. But I also thought that, in terms of their development, a better performance will be when they don't have to do that at all.

I think the team are in a good place at the moment and should definitely be looking up rather than down. They now head to West Brom who are in no type of winning form. There seems to be quite a bit of harmony on the pitch and terraces. We are all waiting to see if the team will be supplemented with new faces in January, but the lads who are playing at the moment are contributing and giving their all. They work hard and are capable of moments, which is often enough to help you progress.