Preston North End beat Coventry City 1-0 on Saturday

I thought the whole effort from the Preston North End team was obvious on Saturday afternoon, which you obviously expect. There were also some good decisions from the manager, Paul Heckingbottom, later in the game with his substitutions. Everyone’s commitment was clear to see though and that will always get the Deepdale crowd involved - they will always go along with that, if they can see it out there on the pitch.

PNE, in my opinion, recognised a miserable opponent in Coventry City - who I thought were a shadow of themselves from recent seasons. I think North End recognised that they could wear Coventry down and that is what they eventually did. Whilst trying to play football in the right way - albeit not too expansively - that courage, bite, and playing a lot higher up than I had seen previously, was all crucial to getting the three points.

I thought the visitors looked quite tame in the first half and any efforts they did have, were in the channels - so no real threat to Preston’s goal. By the time Ellis Simms had headed an effort wide with no conviction, Emil Riis had already had three really, really good chances. I don’t want to suggest they were all misses, because his favourite shot - right footed across the box and towards the bottom corner - was met with a great save from the Coventry goalkeeper’s foot.

Riis’ header was the miss. Then, he worked a little opportunity for himself in the middle of the box and produced a save from the goalkeeper - so he was getting closer. He was booked for a dive and then Robbie Brady flashed one across goal. Those are four chances that had come Preston’s way by half-time, so I never felt too threatened by Coventry - from a North End point of view. I do think the tactics were recognised by the away side, though, at half time.

Preston were eager to get on the front foot and defend high. We saw Jordan Storey following Jack Rudoni into his own half, which often left two defenders at the back - in Liam Lindsay and Andrew Hughes. Coventry were well trapped, often, but they worked it out at half time and played longer, more direct passes. And, they could’ve scored straight after the break, which was a warning for Preston and gave Coventry that little bit of impetus.

Going back to the opening exchanges of the game, though, we saw an overcommitted moment from Ryan Ledson inside three minutes - which resulted in him being booked. I think that possibly made him slightly less competitive as the game progressed, and eventually led him to one final foul before he was replaced. The shape was adjusted and Mads Frokjaer began to thrive. I didn’t feel North End had quite as much impetus in the second 45 - but they just waited for that opportunity.

And, thankfully, Emil Riis’ persistence paid off and it was he who secured the three points. One real, special mention I would like to give is to Brady - who I thought used all his experience in the build-up to the goal. He didn’t get involved in the first contact fight scene, but knew exactly where to be and where the ball would land. He positioned himself perfectly, to collect, show composure and cross perfectly to Riis - who was under pressure to score and did. Credit to Sam Greenwood for the quality on the initial set-piece.

Coventry then made substitutions of their own and had the goal disallowed, but I was never particularly worried for North End - due to their impressive structure and commitment on the day. As for Brady, it is refreshing to see him operating higher up the pitch and making more passes. It was the first time I had seen Paul Heckingbottom’s team this season and I thought there was calm, composure from Freddie Woodman in goal - which allowed the team to build.

There were extra passes in the midfield area and once you get that bit of control in possession, you can get into that final third - which I think plenty of people were hoping North End could invade a lot more than they had been doing. I also thought there were obvious give and go patterns forming between the players in the last third, which resulted in promising crossing opportunities and entries into Coventry’s penalty area. With the quality in Brady’s left foot and his experience of knowing where to be, I thought he was always in a position to deliver those balls.

He ends up with a great assist and I thought he and Riis were the two most telling players in the match. You can’t win everything or score every time but between them, in the first half, they possibly could’ve had North End four-nil up. I was therefore pleased to see that moment in the second half involve those two. But, that is not at expense to the rest of the team, because I thought everyone played their part on the day. Of course, there is still work for the Lilywhites to do but Paul Heckingbottom will know that.

I never thought they were going to extend their lead and I’m hoping that will be part of their progression - to create more, score more and have more freedom. I think this game was more about getting in front and staying in front, against a Coventry team with some dangerous attacking players. There were 15 minutes to go and I thought North End, for the first 10 of them, were trying to get the second goal. For the final five, I certainly wouldn’t say they were holding on, but they got together defensively and all did their bit to secure the win. And, of course, full credit to Freddie Woodman for his fantastic save on 92 minutes. All in all, a solid afternoon’s work.