Ryan Lowe lauded Emil Riis after the striker scored his first goal in more than 15 months to help Preston win 2-0 at Cardiff in the Sky Bet Championship.

The Danish forward fired beyond Jak Alnwick in the 30th minute to put the Lilywhites ahead against the run of play at Cardiff City Stadium – with Ben Whiteman notching Preston’s second five minutes before the break.

It was Riis’ first goal since returning from a year-long lay-off due to a knee injury, with his last strike coming against Middlesbrough in October 2022.

And boss Lowe said Preston are doing everything in their power to mould Riis into the “perfect” centre-forward.

“We’ve all been waiting for Emil to come back,” said Lowe. “He looked strong physically, I’m pleased with his goal, for him and his team-mates, they’re all pleased for him.

“The build-up to it was fantastic and the way he took it, so I’m really pleased for him. It’s huge to have him back.

“At some point he’s going to have to have a break. We’re just trying to mould him into a perfect striker. But we do need to be careful with him.

“We can’t just slog him all the way through, we’ll manage his days and his loads.

“I’m just pleased for him getting on the scoresheet today after having that long period of time out, as a striker it’s pleasing.”

The Bluebirds controlled the opening 30 minutes but were restricted to efforts from distance, with Kion Etete and Karlan Grant both testing  goalkeeper Freddie Woodman.

But Preston looked far more comfortable after taking the lead, with Cardiff’s new-look squad unable to overly concern Woodman.

Aaron Ramsey returned from a five-month absence owing to a knee injury while Nat Phillips, Famara Diedhiou, Josh Wilson-Esbrand and David Turnbull all made their home debuts for Cardiff.

And Bluebirds boss Erol Bulut, whose side are now winless in their last five home games, called for patience as his new players gel in the team.

“We need patience, all of us,” he said. “We’ve got new players, four or five new players.

“We try to get them adapted to the team quickly. I thought Nat was quite good, Wilson came in, but they have to know their team-mates much better and their movements.

“This will come over the next few games. We have many games in the next few weeks and we have to show it.

“We have to continue to show them what they need to do. I hope the next few games will be much better.”

Defeat in the Welsh capital leaves Cardiff seven points adrift of the Championship’s top six.

Victory – their first on the road in six matches – moved Preston to within two points of the play-off spots.

Cardiff boss Erol Bulut accused his players of not working hard enough in their 1-1 draw with Watford.

The Bluebirds manager watched his side fade markedly after taking the lead in the 26th minute through Mark McGuinness.

The centre-half’s far-post volley from a Joe Ralls corner suggested a comfortable afternoon might be in store for the hosts against a Hornets outfit that had lost their three previous Sky Bet Championship outings.

But while the equaliser from Watford striker Vakoun Bayo arrived after a howler by Cardiff goalkeeper Jak Alnwick, the hosts never did enough to win.

Bulut said: “The first 35 minutes was good, but I don’t know what happened afterwards. We totally changed.

“I don’t know why, whether it was pressure or they were stressed. In the end we have to be happy with one point.

“Perhaps after four wins in a row we thought we were great, but we have to work, and today we didn’t work as a group.

“I am satisfied with the start of the season, but not with today.”

It was a shocking mistake by Alnwick, which left the Cardiff City Stadium stunned.

There appeared no danger when McGuinness played a square pass with his team set to clear their defensive lines.

But Alnwick’s first touch was horrid, the ball bouncing off his boot into the path of Bayo who side-footed into an empty net.

Asked about Alnwick’s howler, Bulut said: “We played too many balls back to the goalkeeper which was not necessary.

“We created the chances for them. When we have the chance to play forward, we must do it. You can use the goalkeeper, but not too much.”

It was no more than Watford deserved, with boss Valerien Ismael insisting his side should have taken all three points.

They improved a lot in the second half, enjoying more possession and creating the better opportunities.

Ismael said: “We should have won, no doubt about that. When a team has lost three games and is low on confidence it is difficult.

“We didn’t trust our own quality. The mentality in the second half was very good and we did not concede any chances.

“We expected more points than we have but we will take it step by step. The goal we conceded was incredible, just too easy. But we kept fighting.”

Jak Alnwick’s second-half howler allowed Watford to claim a 1-1 draw at Cardiff in the Sky Bet Championship.

The Cardiff goalkeeper’s clumsy control of a harmless pass from centre-half Mark McGuinness gifted a 54th-minute equaliser to Hornets striker Vakoun Bayo.

The Bluebirds had taken the lead in the 26th minute through McGuinness, but never played with the energy they needed to bounce back from their midweek defeat at Middlesbrough.

Watford boss Valerien Ismael may feel his side deserved all three points but at least they stopped a run of three successive defeats.

Cardiff went into the game with injuries depriving them of significant firepower but that did not stop the hosts creating all the early chances.

Ike Ugbo, holding the forward line in the absence of others, came within inches of connecting with a rebound after Watford goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann palmed away a shot by midfielder Karlan Grant in the 17th minute.

Grant then found himself clean through at the midway point of the first half, only to blaze a careless attempt high over the crossbar.

The Hornets failed to heed the warnings, and in the 26th minute they fell behind to a goal that will have incensed manager Ismael.

A corner by Cardiff captain Joe Ralls was allowed to float to the far post where McGuinness converted a simple close-range volley.

Watford were not without threat up to the interval, but undid much of their good work in the final third with misdirected or overhit passes.

Striker Bayo dragged a clumsy shot wide when in space on the edge of the penalty area in the 33rd minute, but Watford saved their worst example of wastefulness until added time at the end of the half.

A back-pass by Cardiff defender Perry Ng was intercepted by Bayo, only for the Hornets man to lose control of the ball as he tried to round Alnwick.

There was a sense the equaliser might be coming, but nobody could have foreseen just how it would come in the 54th minute.

When a Watford attack broke down McGuinness played what looked a safe square ball to Alnwick, but the goalkeeper’s touch was hideous, the ball bouncing off him to Bayo who this time punished the error by side-footing home.

The leveller was reward for a marked Watford improvement which saw Ismael’s men take the ascendancy in midfield and offer far more menace going forward.

In the 78th minute another Cardiff error – this time a careless pass from Ryan Wintle – served up a glorious chance for Hornets substitute Tom Ince, who skied his shot into the stands.

Neither side could fashion a winner, and there was sense of frustration all round at full-time.

Former Sunderland academy player Jak Alnwick kept his old club at bay before Mark McGuinness headed home a late winner to snatch a 1-0 victory for improving Cardiff at the Stadium of Light.

The 30-year-old goalkeeper, who left the Black Cats to join Newcastle in 2008, made a string of fine saves to frustrate Tony Mowbray’s men.

And with three minutes remaining centre-back McGuinness headed in the only goal of the game to make it four wins from five for the Bluebirds.

That was enough to bring an end to Sunderland’s five-match unbeaten and they remain fifth in the Sky Bet Championship standings.

Cardiff, who move up to seventh, had a couple of earlier half-chances but this was a fixture when they were thankful to Hexham-born Alnwick for keeping them in it.

Mowbray named an unchanged team in a bid to continue the excellent run of form but Cardiff, under former Fenerbahce boss Erol Bulut, have enjoyed recent positivity too after a slow start to the season.

Cardiff were set up to frustrate, with the home side quick to enjoy plenty of possession in the opposition’s half.

But chances were few and far between early on at the Stadium of Light, where Friday’s England Women’s Nations League win over Scotland pushed back this fixture by 24 hours.

After Karlan Grant had fired over from distance for Cardiff, Sunderland started to get more joy at the other end and should have taken the lead 22 minutes in.

Just minutes after Jobe Bellingham had headed into the arms of Alnwick, the goalkeeper looked beaten when Alex Pritchard side-footed towards the bottom corner.

But Cardiff defender Dimitrios Goutas’ touch was enough to take the effort inches wide of the upright after some clever play from Abdoullah Ba and Bellingham down the left created the opportunity.

Even though Sunderland had to be aware of Cardiff’s counter-attacks, Jack Clarke was next to go close when he skipped past two men and forced Alnwick into a low stop before half-time.

The flow of the game continued that way after the restart. Alnwick was again on hand low to his right to stop Pritchard’s drive from the edge of the area after a lovely move also involving Mason Burstow and Clarke.

While goalless the door was always open for Cardiff and Ike Ugbo turned and shot over after the visitors created a promising opening when Burstow was dispossessed on halfway moments after he was cautioned.

Sunderland kept pressing and Clarke’s excellent run and pass was followed by Alnwick saving from Patrick Roberts’ first-time effort, while fellow substitute Adil Aouchiche’s rebound was blocked by a defender.

Cardiff’s Kion Etete forced Anthony Patterson into a stop after a mazy run through the Sunderland backline with 10 minutes remaining as the game suddenly opened up.

And the ideal away performance was complete when McGuinness arrived at the back post to nod Ryan Wintle’s corner inside the bottom corner late on.