Osmajic winner keeps Preston top of Championship

7 months ago 100
Milutin Osmajic strikes the ball into the net beyond John RuddyMilutin Osmajic scored his first goal for Preston since signing for the club on transfer deadline day

Championship leaders Preston came from behind to continue their unbeaten start to the league season with victory over Birmingham at Deepdale.

Jay Stansfield struck 40 seconds after half-time to put the visitors ahead, yet Blues' lead did not last long as Krystian Bielik headed into his own net from a corner six minutes later to level the scores.

Milutin Osmajic then scored his first goal since arriving from Spanish side Cadiz on transfer deadline day to complete the turnaround, slotting the ball between the legs of goalkeeper John Ruddy.

The win was Preston's sixth in a row and sees them remain at the top of the table, while Birmingham were consigned to their second consecutive defeat and slip to seventh.

Relive Tuesday's EFL action as it happened

Preston are revelling in their best start to a season since 1903 but it was Birmingham who enjoyed the better possession during a relatively quiet first half as they mounted pressure in and around the hosts' penalty area despite no clear shots on target.

Against the run of play, Brad Potts almost put Preston ahead with the best chance of the opening 45 minutes but he was overstretching for the ball and sent it over the bar, while Liam Millar had a shot for the hosts from distance that was comfortably saved by Ruddy.

However, it was Birmingham who struck first instantly in the second half to take the lead after Bielik won the ball in midfield and offloaded to Koji Miyoshi. He neatly nutmegged Jack Whatmough to pick out Stansfield and the 20-year-old took the ball around a defender to coolly strike past Freddie Woodman for his third goal of the season.

Only minutes later, though, Birmingham's players had their heads in their shirts when Bielik, under no pressure and with no Preston players around him, headed an attempted clearance past his own keeper Ruddy.

Miyoshi, who has been a stand-out player for Birmingham since his arrival this summer, broke through midfield to set up Ivan Sunjic yet Woodman was alive to his drilled shot and dived low to save it and prevent Blues restoring their lead.

With the second half flowing much more from end to end, just over 10 minutes later Alan Browne picked up the ball, drove past two players and off-loaded to Osmajic who fired into the roof of the net to complete Preston's comeback.

Duane Holmes had a chance to make it 3-1 in the final five minutes with a shot that looked to be creeping under the bar before Ruddy tipped it over, but Preston nonetheless secured a sixth win in seven league games.

Line-ups

Preston

Formation 3-4-2-1

1Woodman14Storey26WhatmoughBooked at 48minsSubstituted forHughesat 52'minutes6Lindsay44Potts13McCannSubstituted forBradyat 51'minutes18LedsonSubstituted forWhitemanat 68'minutes23Millar25Holmes8Browne28OsmajicBooked at 68minsSubstituted forFrökjaer-Jensenat 77'minutes

Substitutes

3Cunningham4Whiteman10Frökjaer-Jensen11Brady16Hughes17Stewart20Woodburn21Cornell33Best

Birmingham

Formation 4-2-3-1

21Ruddy12Drameh5Sanderson26Long23Longelo34SunjicSubstituted forBacunaat 71'minutesBooked at 72mins6BielikSubstituted forGardnerat 88'minutes45BurkeSubstituted forJamesat 88'minutes11Miyoshi14AndersonSubstituted forHoganat 82'minutes28Stansfield

Substitutes

1Etheridge4Roberts7Bacuna9Hogan19James20Gardner27Khela43Dixon44Aiwu

Referee:Dean Whitestone

Attendance:15,838

Live Text

Match ends, Preston North End 2, Birmingham City 1.

Second Half ends, Preston North End 2, Birmingham City 1.

Foul by Jay Stansfield (Birmingham City).

Liam Lindsay (Preston North End) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Attempt blocked. Gary Gardner (Birmingham City) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Cody Drameh.

Substitution, Birmingham City. Gary Gardner replaces Krystian Bielik.

Substitution, Birmingham City. Jordan James replaces Oliver Burke because of an injury.

Delay over. They are ready to continue.

Delay in match because of an injury Oliver Burke (Birmingham City).

Delay in match because of an injury Liam Millar (Preston North End).

Corner, Preston North End. Conceded by John Ruddy.

Attempt saved. Duane Holmes (Preston North End) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.

Corner, Preston North End. Conceded by Emmanuel Longelo.

Offside, Birmingham City. Juninho Bacuna tries a through ball, but Scott Hogan is caught offside.

Substitution, Birmingham City. Scott Hogan replaces Keshi Anderson.

Substitution, Preston North End. Mads Frökjaer-Jensen replaces Milutin Osmajic because of an injury.

Jay Stansfield (Birmingham City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Foul by Liam Millar (Preston North End).

Corner, Preston North End. Conceded by Kevin Long.

Juninho Bacuna (Birmingham City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

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