Stefan Thordarson scored just his second goal of the season to earn Preston a late 2-1 victory over Portsmouth in the Sky Bet Championship.

The 26-year-old showed impressive footwork to net the winner in the 87th minute of a game that only really exploded into life in the latter stages.

Ryan Porteous netted his first goal for Preston in the 76th minute before Colby Bishop equalised with his second goal in three matches.

Pompey started the game well and Terry Devlin should have done better in the 19th minute but the right-back snatched at his finish, sending a tame effort harmlessly wide of the far corner.

The visitors were doing more of the probing as Josh Murphy tested Freddie Woodman with a speculative shot from range before forcing Liam Lindsay into an excellent clearance with a teasing 37th-minute cross.

Andre Dozzell nearly bagged the opener with a piece of ingenuity at odds with most of the first-half play, curling narrowly wide from just inside the box on the stroke of the interval.

After a lethargic opening half from the hosts, Paul Heckingbottom made four alterations for the start of the second period with Robbie Brady, Ben Whiteman, Sam Greenwood and Andrew Hughes all entering the action in a bid to shake the Lilywhites out of their slumber.

The changes did inject some punch into proceedings and one of those fresh faces, Greenwood, set up the chance of the game with the hour-mark approaching, bending an inch-perfect pass towards Emil Riis, but North End’s top scorer headed wide from 10 yards.

Somewhat against the run of play, the visitors then nearly took the lead in remarkable fashion as Cohen Brammall rattled the bar with a sensational 40-yard piledriver.

It looked like the game might fizzle out as a stalemate but it was a later substitute, Ched Evans, who ensured there was to be a goal, touching a well-worked free-kick across the six-yard box for Porteous to turn home at the far post.

However, Portsmouth roared back quickly and Bishop powered home an 83rd-minute header from Murphy’s corner to seal what looked like a deserved point.

Preston almost won it just moments after the equaliser as Brady teed up Evans for what looked like a tap-in from a few yards out, only for visiting goalkeeper Nicolas Schmid to make a remarkable save with his foot.

But the home team did get their late winner and it was brilliant from Thordarson, taking Brady’s punt down brilliantly before rounding Schmid and finishing well from a tight angle.

The hosts earned their first league win in seven attempts despite Greenwood’s late dismissal after picking up his second yellow in the fourth minute of stoppage time.