Milutin 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-upsMatch StatsLive Text
Line-upsPreston
Formation 3-4-2-1
1Woodman14Storey26Whatmough6Lindsay44Potts13McCann18Ledson23Millar25Holmes8Browne28Osmajic
- 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
21Ruddy12Drameh5Sanderson26Long23Longelo34Sunjic6Bielik45Burke11Miyoshi14Anderson28Stansfield
- 21Ruddy12Drameh5Sanderson26Long23Longelo34SunjicSubstituted forBacunaat 71'minutesBooked at 72mins6BielikSubstituted forGardnerat 88'minutes45BurkeSubstituted forJamesat 88'minutes11Miyoshi14AndersonSubstituted forHoganat 82'minutes28Stansfield
Substitutes
- 1Etheridge4Roberts7Bacuna9Hogan19James20Gardner27Khela43Dixon44Aiwu
Referee:Dean WhitestoneAttendance:15,838Match StatsHome TeamPrestonAway TeamBirminghamPossessionHome41%Away59%ShotsHome10Away16Shots on TargetHome3Away4CornersHome5Away2FoulsHome11Away13Live Text Post update
Match ends, Preston North End 2, Birmingham City 1.
90'+9'Full Time
Second Half ends, Preston North End 2, Birmingham City 1.
90'+6'Post update
Foul by Jay Stansfield (Birmingham City).
90'+6'Post update
Liam Lindsay (Preston North End) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
90'+6'Post update
Attempt blocked. Gary Gardner (Birmingham City) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Cody Drameh.
88'Substitution
Substitution, Birmingham City. Gary Gardner replaces Krystian Bielik.
88'Substitution
Substitution, Birmingham City. Jordan James replaces Oliver Burke because of an injury.
87'Post update
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
87'Post update
Delay in match because of an injury Oliver Burke (Birmingham City).
87'Post update
Delay in match because of an injury Liam Millar (Preston North End).
84'Post update
Corner, Preston North End. Conceded by John Ruddy.
84'Post update
Attempt saved. Duane Holmes (Preston North End) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
83'Post update
Corner, Preston North End. Conceded by Emmanuel Longelo.
82'Post update
Offside, Birmingham City. Juninho Bacuna tries a through ball, but Scott Hogan is caught offside.
82'Substitution
Substitution, Birmingham City. Scott Hogan replaces Keshi Anderson.
77'Substitution
Substitution, Preston North End. Mads Frökjaer-Jensen replaces Milutin Osmajic because of an injury.
74'Post update
Jay Stansfield (Birmingham City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
74'Post update
Foul by Liam Millar (Preston North End).
73'Post update
Corner, Preston North End. Conceded by Kevin Long.
72'Booking
Juninho Bacuna (Birmingham City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Source: bbc.com