A phenomenal end to the season is now required, but don't rule out this talented team from a top two finish just yet

Peterborough United and Portsmouth had 31 shots between them yesterday, but Darren Ferguson’s side made their former ‘keeper Will Norris save just one of their 15 attempts at goal, a first-half dribbler from Ephron Mason-Clark which the Pompey number one somehow managed to spill.

Unfortunately Norris wasn’t called upon again, a fact that ought to have troubled Posh boss Darren Ferguson more than how fortunate the League One leaders had apparently been to claim another three points on their seemingly unstoppable march to the Championship.

Pompey had just four on target shots, but scored from one of them as Kusini Yengi showed the accuracy that eluded Ephron Mason-Clark for 90 minutes. It’s tough to claim any Posh player would have scored from the position Yengi was in when he received the ball from fellow substitute Gavin Whyte.

Mason-Clark played well though as indeed did Posh as a team. Some of their play through a determined press was outstanding, but finding space, and thus scoring opportunities, in the visiting penalty area against a very well organised defence was far more difficult and that ultimately settled a game that was absorbingly competitive between two fine sides for the level.

TALKING POINTS FROM POSH 0, POMPEY 1...

1) Pompey’s troubled build-up made the result all the more disappointing. They started with two full-backs, against the best two wingers in the division, who didn’t know they’d be playing until the morning of the game, but left-back Jack Sparkes, a player not known for defensive excellence, ensured Kwame Poku was a peripheral presence throughout. This was a golden opportunity for Posh to put pressure on the top two, but the day ended with Ferguson’s men facing a massive task to chase Pompey and second-placed Derby County down. The Rams remain just about in touch, but their win at home to third-placed Bolton Wanderers was also the worst possible outcome on a frustrating day for Posh.

2) Still all is not yet lost. Posh have eight games to go and winning them all would give them 95 points which ought to be enough for second. Posh have the bottom four to play – three of them at home – plus two games against teams who could have little to play for, and even the last match of the season against Bolton might not now have the importance one assumed was inevitable. That’s the good news, but the bad news is Posh haven’t won more than five games in a row all season and they’ve only won eight in a row twice in their history, most recently under Darren Ferguson’s management in League Two in the second-half of the 2007-08 season. Posh actually won nine in a row in the third tier in 1992 on their way to promotion through the play-offs. They might need fewer than 95 points, but there is little sign of Pompey or Derby slowing down.

3) It’s perhaps important to repeat the fact that few expected Posh to be in this position at this stage of the season after their summer re-boot. It’s also worth repeating that this side have delivered some of the best football seen by a Posh team in the club’s history. Posh are currently only behind the three biggest clubs in the division – all of them former Premier League sides - and they are as good, if not better, on their day than all of them. That was evident for the first three quarters of yesterday’s game. The failure to mount an effective response to the Pompey goal was however disappointing. Posh petered out pretty tamely and their substitutions were made too late to change that.

4) Well done to Ryan Havilland. This was some game for the midfielder to step into having started just two League One games all season, and none since the October 3 draw at Carlisle. But he played well. He showed for the ball in his own half and, particularly in the first-half, he rarely wasted a pass. The absence of Hector Kyprianou was more of a problem in aerial duals. He often positions himself between Ronnie Edwards and Harrison Burrows to win headers from long balls, but without him Colby BIshop ruled the airwaves with ease. Archie Collins was excellent alongside De Havilland and there were further signs that Jadel Katongo has become an effective right-back.

5) If any Posh player deserves to end his time at London Road with a promotion it’s Ronnie Edwards. Apart from when trying to beat Bishop in the air he was superb again yesterday, creating space for himself when he looked surrounded, while also seeing danger early and snuffing it out. He was beaten rather easily by Yengi as he burst into the Posh penalty area to win the game though proving improvement is still possible.

6) Surprising comments from Ferguson about the decision to allow Pompey to have over 4,000 fans in the Weston Homes Stadium yesterday. It’s a tough decision for a club who are not awash with spare cash because the game would not have attracted the best League One gate of the season at London Road without so many visiting supporters. It was a great atmosphere and it probably helped both sides deliver a decent spectacle. I don’t agree that it made a difference to the outcome as Posh played well enough to win.

7) It was an interesting decision to give this game to MLS referee Alex Chilowicz, a man with little experience of the Football League. But he was good. His man management was excellent as he defused potential flashpoints very quickly. Five minutes added on at the end of the 90 wasn’t enough though, but then I’ve given up on our officials keeping time adequately this season.