A dubious Peterborough United goal, jaded, enigmatic and outstanding players, signs of a good team and who's the new 'daddy'?

It was a strange moment when the Peterborough United forward stooped to head Kwame Poku’s fine cross as it took a while for the Posh fans stationed at the other end of the ground to realise the ball had crossed the line.

A sequence of pictures seen by the PT suggest Mason-Clark’s header was deflected goalwards and into the net by the hand of Vale player Gavin Massey.

It wasn't the only stroke of good fortune to be enjoyed by Posh in the last couple of matches, but they will still celebrate a gritty win at Vale Park, one that kept them in touch with their rivals in the play-off positions and closed the gap on the top two.

TALKING POINTS FROM PORT VALE 0, POSH 1…

1) A big call from boss Darren Ferguson to select rapid, but still raw, striker Ricky-Jade Jones to lead the forward line at Vale Park ahead of proven goalscorer Jonson Clarke-Harris, but there was method in his apparent madness. Port Vale play on the biggest playing surface in League One so pace was required to take full advantage. Jones has plenty of that, but he remains an enigmatic performer. He accepted the ball pretty well under pressure and he pressed defenders willingly, but he is unreliable in possession and his decision to try a shot from 45 yards when he could have played substitute David Ajiboye through on goal in the second-half pointed to a lack of vision or just basic footballing sense. Clarke-Harris is expected to leave London Road in January and he’s likely to be replaced from within the current squad so someone needs to step up. I suspect Malik Mothersille will be that man so his anticipated debut against Spurs Under 21s next week will be of great interest.

2) The Jones shot (see above) that dribbled harmlessly towards goal was the worst Posh decision of the night, but there were others. Joel Randall passed when he should have shot in the second-half and he shot from 25 yards with his weaker foot when he should have passed before the break. Posh crosses rarely found their target and other simple opportunities to play in well-placed team-mates were muffed, most notably when Mason-Clark overhit a simple through ball to Hector Kyprianou which would have presented the Cypriot with a clear run at goal towards the end of a tough contest.

3) Kyprianou has been way off the pace in back-to-back games. I wonder if two senior international appearances and the travelling involved has left one of the star Posh performers of the season a little jaded.

4) Clarke-Harris can be replaced, but I’m not so sure about Edwards. He was just outstanding last night, highlighted by showing the necessary anticipation to get back and block what looked like a certain goal midway through the second-half on the goal-line. There is a left-sided centre-back in the building in Romoney Crichlow and he came on played very solidly for the second game in a row last night, but as the left centre-back in a three.

5) The most worrying aspect of last night was how easily Posh were pinned in their own half by a limited and injury-stricken home side. Vale had 55% of the possession according to the BBC. Posh won't get away with that against the better teams and they face one in Blackpool on Saturday.

6) Goalkeeper Nicholas Bilokapic responded well to his dithery weekend passing performance. His handling was impeccable and, although he still caused the odd palpitation with the ball at his feet, he was generally accurate. He’s certainly a cool customer and he clearly won’t be pushed by crowd or media noise into moving away from his manager’s gameplan.

7) Two below par performances, but four points gained. Some would say that’s the sign of a good team. It remains reasonable to suggest a young team will improve with experience. The average age of the starting line-up last night was 22.45 with 26 year-old Josh Knight the daddy.

8) Midfielder Archie Collins said Posh needed to find different ways to win and they certainly found one at Vale Park. Collins played little part in it though after the reckless challenge and the deserved caution that followed was accompanied by an accidental blow to the head and a first-half departure because of concussion. It was a shock to see centre-back Jadel Katongo come on for Collins ahead of specialist midfielder Ryan De Havilland, but the Manchester City loanee was a calm presence and he should start on Saturday when Collins will be suspended.