Preston striker Emil Riis' thunderbolt strike took the fans by surprise

The Dane’s opening goal of the game was an absolute rocket, hit from an unlikely angle which flew past Hatters’ No.1 Simon Sluga and nestled inside the far post.

The 23-year-old, who signed a new one year extension on improved terms this week, made it 10 and 11 for the season with his second coming from the spot to seal a welcome 2-0 win for the hosts.

Riis said: “We played around at the side and the ball came down to me and I just thought smash it in and see what happens.

“Luckily it went into the top corner.

“I wanted to put it to the back stick to see if someone would be there but it could go in as well. It was a bit of both, maybe.

“That’s what I was needing last season - at the minute they’re just going in. I’m happy and hopefully it will continue.

“It was perfect to score right before half time.

“If we had gone in at half time only 1-0 up I think it would have been a different game. They came out strong in the second half, they made a few changes and we had to learn how to cope with that and luckily we did.

“I did have the hat-trick on my mind but the most important thing was the win.

I asked Browne if I could have it and if he said he wanted to have it then I would have given it to him.

“I didn’t want to make a fight on the pitch, he is the captain and he makes the decisions. He was happy to give it to me and I was thankful for that.”

Despite his joy at scoring twice, Riis was delighted to see PNE pick up a much-needed win after defeats to Blackpool and Liverpool in the past week.

North End responded in the best possible way and looked good value for their three points.

The Hatters failed to really test Daniel Iversen in the home goal - but for a stunning save from a deflected effort.

“We’ve been needing that win, especially after the last two games,” Riis said.

“To get a win in front of our fans is amazing.

“We’ve been talking about starting with a high press and trying to win the ball high up the pitch - we did that today.

“I don’t think they had many chances except toward the end, we played well as a group.

“If we start the press then the whole team will follow me and Sean. If we can get the upper hand over the three at the back then we can keep the ball high up the pitch.

“Sean and myself played well today.”

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