COVENTRY City remain winless on the road this season following a narrow 1-0 defeat away at Preston North End.
The game’s only goal came on 73 minutes as Emil Riis scored the winner with a header from close range.
And the result means Coventry have now failed to beat Preston in the last 22 league meetings between the two clubs.
The Sky Blues are also still yet to taste victory in a league match at Deepdale in their history.
Preston had the game’s first chance as Robbie Brady cut in from the left and curled a shot over the crossbar from 20-yards out.
The home side then caught City in possession deep inside their own half as the returning Oliver Dovin produced a superb save with his foot to deny Riis the opening goal.
North End defender Jordan Storey headed over from a corner soon after with Ellis Simms unable to properly connect with Jack Rudoni’s floated cross at the other end.
Preston remained in the ascendancy and should have taken the lead when Ryan Ledson delivered a cross from the right onto the head of Riis only for the striker to glance wide from six-yards out.
The home side spurned another chance when Mads Frøkjær-Jensen played in Brady only for the latter to flash a shot across the face of goal from the left-hand side of the penalty area.
City almost caught Preston out with a free-kick at the other end as Rudoni saw his low effort from the right deflect behind for a corner.
Dovin came to Coventry’s rescue again later in the first half as the Swede pushed Riis’s deflected shot from 15-yards out to safety.
Riis then received a yellow card for simulation after he went to ground in the box despite Bobby Thomas pulling his leg away from the challenge.
The Sky Blues went close at the start of the second half as Josh Eccles sliced a shot wide from 20-yards out after the ball dropped kindly into the midfielder’s path.
City then missed a golden chance to break the deadlock when Brady’s attempted clearance hit Milan van Ewijk and fell into the path of Norman Bassette only for the young striker to poke the ball wide past an onrushing Freddie Woodman from six-yards out.
And the Sky Blues were made to pay for those missed chances when Riis headed Brady’s cross from the right into the roof of the net from point-blank range following a corner.
City skipper Ben Sheaf sent a volley just over the crossbar as the Sky Blues searched for an equaliser.
And the visitors thought they had rescued a point when substitute Haji Wright fired home on the turn only for the referee to blow his whistle for a handball by the USA international.
Coventry were denied a share of the spoils late on as Preston stopper Woodman made a stunning stop low down to his left to somehow push Thomas’s header behind for a corner.
