Pat’s soaring again to lift rocky Preston

BIG Patrick Bauer ended eight months out with injury to finally give Preston their first points of the season.

The 6ft 5in German defender used his height and presence to head home a set-piece cross from Ryan Ledson, ending North End’s pointless start to the season.

Bauer has been sidelined by an Achilles injury but in his first league outing of the campaign he made his presence felt.

And though Preston lived dangerously at times, they showed that fight and determination can get results.

A goal-line clearance from Liverpool loanee Sepp van den Berg kept out an effort by Posh striker Siriki Dembele, who is being tracked by both Celtic and Rangers among others.

The striker, 24, had rounded keeper Daniel Iversen but Van Den Berg spoiled his day.

Preston’s Ben Whiteman also went close but his shot hit the bar.

North End boss Frankie McAvoy said: “It’s a mixture of delight and relief all round. We should have made it easier with the amount of goalscoring opportunities we had.

“At 1-0 it was very precarious. We went for the second but we couldn’t get there.

“Patrick’s goal was a stunner though. We’ve missed him all right.

“I had earmarked him for the midweek match but we have to be careful with him.”

Peterborough boss Darren Ferguson, once sacked by Preston, said: “We had no conviction at all in the first half.

“But I thought that if we got one goal, we would get two and win.

“Dembele was so close – and that was the big chance of the game.”

PRESTON: Iversen 6; Storey 7, Bauer

8, Hughes 7; Van Den Berg 6, Ledson

7, Johnson 8, Whiteman, Earl 7; Sinclair

7 (Riis (68th) 6), Maguire 6 (Potts 78th)

PETERBOROUGH: Pym 7; Kent

6, Thompson 6, Knight 6 (Randall

77th), Ward 7, Norburn 6, Burrows 7 (Szmodics (67th) 6), Butler 6; Grant 6; Dembele 6 (Marriott (67th) 6), ClarkeHarris 6

STAR MAN: Patrick Bauer

REFEREE: D Whitestone