MATCH REACTION: '˜He's probably the only player on the pitch that could do that' - McCann hails '˜special talent' Maddison after Peterborough United wondergoal

The Posh boss believes the wondergoal which sealed a 1-0 win over previously unbeaten league leaders Shrewsbury Town will be played out on the TV stations this evening (Saturday, October 28).

McCann was delighted with his side’s energy and commitment after ending their barren run but admitted today’s result left him frustrated by some of their previous results against the weaker teams in the division.

On the Maddison goal he said: “He’s probably the only player on the pitch that could do that. He frustrates us at times with his positions out of possession but we know he’s a special, special talent.

“He’s working so much harder for the team. He can do more - he knows that, we all know that, but the goal, I’m sure it will be shown everywhere tonight.

“If that was Messi or Ronaldo I think it would be everywhere. Unbelievable finish.”

The match was often a scrappy affair with eight yellow cards split between the sides, and McCann felt Shrewsbury should have been down to 10 men due to Abu Ogogo committing two yellow card offences in the same passage of play.

But after surviving what turned out to be eight minutes of added time the Posh boss now wants his side to carry out the same performance when they return to league action in a fortnight at AFC Wimbledon after two cup ties.

“I thought we were tremendous in terms of our level of commitment and our character and attitude,” said McCann.

“We were playing against a very, very good team. You can see why they’re top of the league.

“But I thought we stood strong. When you’re on a bit of a bad run it’s easy to be a bit tentative, a bit loose in possession, a bit defensive, but they got over the line.

“Now the boys know they have set the standards today and we need to move on from that.

“It was a competitive game. We were certainly not going to let them score easily. We defended well.

“I’m hurting to be honest with you. We know we can beat the best, now we need to find the solutions to the lesser teams in the league who come here.

“We need to find that level of attitude and commitment. We are searching for it, working hard and trying different things in training and on match day to try and find that solution.”

McCann moved Gwion Edwards behind Maddison and Jack Marriott for today’s match, and he felt the front three set the tone for the win.

There was also a change at the back with Ryan Tafazolli coming into a back three, but unlike in previous matches Steven Taylor was preferred in the middle to Jack Baldwin.

Explaining his thinking, McCann said: “It was a change I had been thinking about for a while. We know we’ve conceded far too many goals, so I thought the experience of Tayls in between Taf and Baldwin would help us.

“It got us a clean sheet. He organised people in front of him and around him, and Bondy has made a couple of excellent saves as well.”

McCann, who was wearing a tracksuit rather than his suit after leaving his smart shoes at home, also praised the fans for sticking with the team and helping them secure an important three points which lifts them to eighth, one point off the play-offs.

“The fans stuck with us. They cheered us onto the final whistle. They got behind us today. We needed them when times were tough,” he added.

“Today they showed us the Peterborough way and got behind the team and got the team over the line.”