Birmingham City 1-2 Preston North End: Lilywhites score twice to pile misery on Blues

Preston North End struck twice in six minutes in the first half to pile the misery on Birmingham City, who lost their fifth Championship game in a row.

Birmingham offered little in the way of response for much of the game, with fans going on to protest against the club’s ownership as they headed for a fifth consecutive defeat.

Lukas Jutkiewicz got them off the mark with seven minutes remaining as he headed home from Maxime Collin’s cross but they could not find an equaliser.

The match was the first to see a woman referee a men’s Championship game, after Rebecca Welch took charge at St Andrew’s.

It was not long before she officiated her first Championship goal, with Ledson doing well to fire from distance after Blues failed to clear away a North End cross.

The Lilywhites took just six more minutes to head into a 2-0 lead, with an unmarked Browne heading home at the near post from a Robbie Brady delivery.

Blues came into the game with a woeful losing run, with Tuesday’s FA Cup win over Forest Green a rare exception amid four straight defeats.

The hosts have now not won any of their past 35 games when they have conceded first – losing on 30 of those occasions – following Saturday’s defeat.

As the game went on, Birmingham fans protested in front of the directors’ box against the club’s ownership, with two fans also running on to the pitch late in the second half before they were removed.