IRELAND INTERNATIONAL Andrew Moran made his debut, and Alfie Devine secured Preston\u2019s first win in five Championship matches as they edged past struggling Portsmouth 1-0 at Deepdale.<\/p>\n
The Dubliner joined Preson on a three-and-a-half-year deal on Deadline Day, after five and a half years at Brighton.<\/p>\n
Bray Wanderers youth product Moran, who has three Ireland caps and previously had loan stints at Blackburn Rovers, Stoke City and Los Angeles FC, was introduced in the 87th minute and helped his side see out the victory.<\/p>\n
21-year-old Devine bagged a 40th-minute winner \u2013 his sixth goal of the season \u2013 with a well-directed header from Andrija Vukcevic\u2019s cross.<\/p>\n
It was a big win for Paul Heckingbottom that puts his team back on track for a play-off push, however, they had to dig deep against John Mousinho\u2019s visitors, who were unfortunate not to take something from the game.<\/p>\n
Portsmouth started with intent, and in the third minute they had three shots in the box from Adrian Segecic, Jacob Brown and Zak Swanson, all blocked by a steely Preston rearguard.<\/p>\n
A battered-looking pitch set the tone for a scrappy opening period, with Ebou Adams\u2019 tame header from Segecic\u2019s cross in the 20th minute being the first effort on target by either side.<\/p>\n
North End fans had their hearts in their mouths on the half-hour as Segecic looked to be in on goal when Lewis Gibson intervened with a last-ditch sliding challenge that referee Adam Herczeg approved of, despite wild gesticulations from the Pompey players, who felt the 21-year-old winger had been upended.<\/p>\n
It was a sluggish start from the hosts, although they did rack up two quickfire chances in the 37th and 38th minutes as Devine\u2019s deflected shot looped just wide of the far corner before Lewis Dobbin\u2019s whipped, angled effort was easily gathered by Nicolas Schmid.<\/p>\n
Those moments provided the perfect impetus as just moments later, Devine managed to guide a looping header over Schmid and into the corner to provide the home fans with some cheer.<\/p>\n
Pompey almost had an instant response with David Cornell forced to spring low down to tip Andre Dozzell\u2019s audacious low strike from distance around the post.<\/p>\n
Preston started the second half well, and Dobbin nearly extended their lead after 54 minutes, taking Ben Whiteman\u2019s pass in his stride before galloping past several Portsmouth bodies, but his final finish was too high.<\/p>\n
However, from that moment forward, the Lilywhites were largely second best and found themselves pinned by the visitors.<\/p>\n
Their best opening came in the 78th minute as Adams\u2019 close-range header was blocked on the line in a crowded penalty area with close-by team-mates in blue and white unable to usher the loose ball in.<\/p>\n
In the latter stages, substitute Makenzie Kirk spooned over Millenic Alli\u2019s awkward cross at the near post as another half-chance went begging for Portsmouth.<\/p>\n
Mousinho\u2019s men did everything they could to take the game to their opponents, but just lacked incisiveness with the killer final pass and finish, perhaps reflecting their lowly league position of 19th.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, in League One, Marcus Harness\u2019 fourth goal of the season helped inspire Huddersfield Town\u2019s late comeback to draw 2-2 with Blackpool, leaving them in the playoff spots in fifth.<\/p>\n
A goal from former Ireland U21 international Luca Connell was not enough, as Conor Hourihane\u2019s mid-table Barnsley lost 3-2 against Bolton Wanderers.<\/p>\n
Irish midfielder Jamie Mullins scored his third goal of the season from 27 appearances, as eighth-place Wycombe beat Doncaster 4-0.<\/p>\n
In League Two, Cork\u2019s Aaron Drinan continued his brilliant season, as his 24th goal in all competitions helped promotion-chasing Swindon Town beat Oldham 3-0.<\/p>\n
Jacob Devaney, take a bow son!\ud83d\ude2e\u200d\ud83d\udca8<\/p>\n
What a way to get his first goal for St Mirren\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddea pic.twitter.com\/ACn22r7Exf<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Rep of Ireland Player Tracker (@reptracker) February 6, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n Meanwhile, on Friday night,\u00a0Jacob Devaney opened the scoring, and Roland Idowu struck in extra-time to save St Mirren\u2019s blushes as they saw off a resilient Airdrie 2-1 to book their place in the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup quarter-finals.<\/p>\n Additional reporting by Paul Fennessy<\/p>\n