Stoke City 1-2 Preston North End: Lilywhites come from behind to beat Potters
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Andrew Hughes' last league goal for Preston came on 23 February 2019
Preston came from a goal down to beat Stoke City in their first match in more than three weeks.
Ben Wilmot's superb 30-yard strike into the top corner gave the Potters a second-half lead after a close first period.
But Preston levelled in unstoppable fashion as Brad Potts' volley with the outside of his foot from Daniel Johnson's cross thundered into the roof of the net from 10 yards.
The turnaround was complete when the unmarked Andrew Hughes headed home Ben Whiteman's corner nine minutes from time.
The victory lifts Preston up to 14th in the Championship after two successive wins under new manager Ryan Lowe.
Stoke remain in eighth place, five points off the play-off places, having suffered a fourth loss in their last six games.
Preston were in action for the first time in 23 days after a series of Covid-19 related postponements, and the game was just a second at the helm for Lowe despite almost a month in the role.
His side had the better of the first half as Whiteman, Ched Evans and Alan Browne all had early chances before Hughes did well to clear from close range after Steven Fletcher's 24th-minute effort.
Preston keeper Daniel Iversen had no chance with Wilmot's opener as the Stoke defender ended a 408-day wait for a goal in spectacular style, and the Potters could have been 2-0 up but for some desperate defending as Sam Clucas and Tyrese Campbell had shots blocked.
But the lead only lasted 13 minutes, Stoke keeper Adam Davies left with little chance of saving Potts' volley as Preston upped their intensity to worry their hosts.
Stoke substitute Alfie Doughty brought a good low save out of Iversen with 12 minutes to go, but the Potters were second best for much of the game and were made to pay when Hughes nodded in the winner to ensure Lowe kept a perfect record in charge of his new side.
Stoke City manager Michael O'Neill told BBC Radio Stoke:
"We were in a very good position in the game, I thought first half we played well, our final ball was poor, we got into good areas but didn't make enough of that.
"We go ahead, and it's a great goal from Ben, and have chances possibly to make it 2-0, and then we lose a poor goal. We've got to defend the goal better, we didn't get pressure on the ball at any point in the build-up.
"Then I think our play deteriorated, we found it difficult after that, we had to make substitutions to get energy into the team, which whilst it brought us energy I think it diluted a little bit of our quality at times.
"But we lose a goal off a set piece. It's a corner, we should defend it better and that's the differential in the game.
"But the concerning thing is we're ahead in the game again and we come away with nothing."
Preston North End manager Ryan Lowe told BBC Radio Lancashire:
"The players, credit to them, they've stuck by what we've asked them to do over the time.
"We've had a tough period of being off with the Covid situation, the training ground was shut, they've had four days of work into them into what we wanted to do and it's paid off.
"I thought the two goals were well-worked, thought we could have scored early doors. When they score a worldy strike you think 'is that just it, is that going to seal the game?'
"But no, fair play to our lads, they had that character and that resilience to keep going and get two good goals."