North End 1, Coventry 3
Worthington Cup, second round. Tuesday, September 19 at Deepdale
Preston North End (1) 1
Alexander 48 (pen)
Coventry City (2) 3
Zuniga 4, Hall 45, Strachan 86 (pen). Williams sent off 64
Coventry City Manager Gordon Strachan conceded that the positive result in his team's favour flattered them on the night after a match that saw his son Gavin add to his team's tally with a penalty, despite the run of play.
A crowd of just under 11,000 saw North End match their Premiership rivals for skill and for ingenuity - but North End's finishing was just wide of the mark.
Despite Coventry being one man down due to a sending off, and despite player Chippo being taken off after a bizarre incident when his own team-mate apparently poked him in the eye, the Midlands team bravely saw off North End's aggression.
Graham Alexander scored for the Lillywhites in a second half peppered with chances that had the Deepdale crowd on their toes.
Manager David Moyes said: "Any neutral watching the match would have wondered which was the Premiership side."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article