Sponsored by
Standing ovation for Posh - Sheffield Utd 1, Posh 0
TOMMY Cooper was a shorter price than Mark Cooper when the odds for the next Peterborough United manager were first revealed.
TOMMY Cooper was a shorter price than Mark Cooper when the odds for the next Peterborough United manager were first revealed.At least then inevitable relegation would have been accompanied by the odd laugh.
And boy could this club do with something to smile about. Two wins in 17 Championship matches has left them marooned six points from safety – Tories in Scotland would appear to have a better chance of success.
But, while many poor results have been deserved, this most certainly wasn't one of them. The fact that the losing team were afforded a standing ovation by their fans at the final whistle and a time-wasting, cynical home side were jeered off spoke volumes for the way the match was played out.
Cooper's managerial qualities are untested outside of Tamworth and Kettering, but first impressions on the Posh public were favourable.
Stand-up comedy may not be in his repertoire, but he stood up here and delivered on his promise of improved defensive discipline without tinkering too much with the team's attacking flair.
Ultimately an untimely failure from the penalty spot by the team's latest skipper George Boyd cost Posh a point they thoroughly deserved.
Indeed so poor were The Blades after the break, if home keeper Mark Bunn had not done his homework properly and dived the wrong way midway through the second-half, Posh might well have gone on to win.
Unfortunately speculation and theory won't win any points, nor will plucky performances with no end product. Determined, committed and impressive as Posh were at times, a home side shorn of several key men, low on confidence and with a 25,000 crowd on their backs were there for the taking.
Posh, with Toumani Diagouraga and Lee Frecklington combining impressively in the centre of midfield, did put together some neat passing moves and freed Craig Mackail-Smith twice to no avail. He dithered fatally on the first occasion in the first half and delivered a tame shot with his weaker left foot after the break before partially making amends by winning the penalty after pouncing on Aaron Mclean's clever back-heel.
Chances come along far less frequently at this level and Posh must up their success rate in front of goal. Boyd, Mclean and Chris Whelpdale narrowly missed the target from distance in the first half, while substitute Shaun Batt's last-gasp strike dribbled agonisingly past a post after Bunn had been rendered impotent by a slip.
United edged possession in the first half with Henri Camara always lively. The Senegalese striker eventually grabbed the only goal of the game three minutes before the break, slamming home a rebound after Posh keeper Joe Lewis had saved well from Ched Evans.
A ball over the top of Posh debutant Scott Griffiths started the move for the goal. Otherwise Griffiths, who set up headed chances for Mackail-Smith and Boyd on his rare ventures forward, played well as did new centre-back pairing Ryan Bennett and Gaby Zakuani.
Only when a smart corner routine led to Evans rattling the underside of the crossbar did the defence get caught out. They were completely untroubled after the break as United, when not hoofing the ball aimlessly forward, resorted to slowing the game down at every opportunity, a fact that didn't seem to bother the latest weak, inconsistent referee to be appointed to a Posh match.
Grant Hegley didn't suffer from Swedish referee levels of blindness, but he bought every dive and every appeal for a foul by the home players.
Indeed it's one of the season's great mysteries how a Posh side which is dwarfed physically by every opponent at this level appear to concede twice as many free-kicks.
They say these things even out over a season so Posh can look forward to a succession of cheap free-kicks in dangerous positions.
Hopefully they won't be totally cast adrift by then. On the evidence of the first showing under the new boss they won't be.Match facts
SHEFFIELD UTD 1
POSH 0
GOALS: Sheffield United – Camara (42 mins).
REFEREE: Grant Hegley (Hertfordshire) 5.
ATTENDANCE: 25,144.
Sheffield ratings
Mark Bunn: 7
Kyle Walker: 7
Matthew Kilgallon: 6
Chris Morgan: 7
Andrew Davies: 7
Stephen Quinn: 6
James Harper: 6
Lee Williamson: 6
Jamie Ward: 6
Ched Evans: 5
Henri Camara: 7
Keith Treacy: (for Camara, 71 mins)
Ryan France: (for Williamson, 80 mins)
Kyel Reid: (for Ward, 85 mins).
Andy Taylor: (not used).
Glen Little: (not used).
Derek Geary: (not used)
Jonathan Fortune: (not used).
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Peterborough
Tuesday 22 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 11 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: North
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.