MATCH REACTION: Peterborough United slip further from the top six, but McCann remains positive

Peterborough United manager Grant McCann is determined to stay positive even though his side slipped further away from the League One play-off places following a 2-2 draw with Scunthorpe at the ABAX Stadium tonight (February 13).
Marcus Maddison fires Posh ahead against Scunthorpe. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.Marcus Maddison fires Posh ahead against Scunthorpe. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.
Marcus Maddison fires Posh ahead against Scunthorpe. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.

Posh led twice through goals from Marcus Maddison and Junior Morias, but couldn’t hold on for three points. They remain five points outside the top sixth, but dropped a place to 10th.

McCann retained faith with the 3-4-1-2 formation he employed in the 1-1 draw at Gillingham on Saturday (February 10), but recalled Maddison and Morias to the starting line-up in place of Danny Lloyd and Omar Bogle.

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“It was a good game between two good sides,” McCann enthused. “We started well, they came back at us, we finished the first-half well and the biggest disappointment for us was their second goal as we switched off.

Posh players celebrate a goal from Junior Morias (third right) against Scunthorpe. Photo: David Lowndes.Posh players celebrate a goal from Junior Morias (third right) against Scunthorpe. Photo: David Lowndes.
Posh players celebrate a goal from Junior Morias (third right) against Scunthorpe. Photo: David Lowndes.

“Both teams went all out for the win after that, but we looked the more likely to score again towards the end. Ryan Tafazolli had a good chance from a corner and there was a good save from a Marcus Maddison shot. It was probably a fair result though.

“I’ve been pleased with the last two performances. Obviously there’s disappointment at not winning either of them, but we are confident going into the run-in that we can reach the top six.

“I’m not bothered by dropping a place in the table. That doesn’t interest me. We are still close, we are still in their fighting and we are very close to being a very good side. We will stay positive. There is no point in just picking out the negative bits from a performance.

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“We just need that belief to go on and score a second goal when we are on top. We started superbly and could have scored more than one, but I was delighted the two players we brought into the side scored the goals. They had that extra freshness about them.

Posh player Joe Ward takes a shot at the Scunthorpe goal. Photo: David Lowndes.Posh player Joe Ward takes a shot at the Scunthorpe goal. Photo: David Lowndes.
Posh player Joe Ward takes a shot at the Scunthorpe goal. Photo: David Lowndes.

“We got into good areas without managing the final bit in the second half. It’s about getting the balance right between passing and shooting.”

McCann, who issued a rallying call on social media to the Posh fans after the Gillingham game, was generally happy with the support frorm a modest home crowd, apart from the boos that accompanied his second-half decision to replace sponsors’ man-of-the-match Joe Ward with Lloyd.

“I don’t know why they would do that,” McCann stated. “We have GPS on the bench and we know who’s tiring. Joe has come from non-league and played two games in quick succession. He is an excellent player who put a big shift in tonight, but he struggled for 10 minutes before we took him off.

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“We throught about changing the formation at half-time, but we had just taken the lead so we left it. We asked Maddison and Morias to play a bit wider to help defensively, but we did finish the game well after we made substitutions and changed shape. Hindsight is a lovely thing to have.

Posh goalkeeper Jonathan Bond makes a key save during the 2-2 draw against Scunthorpe. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.Posh goalkeeper Jonathan Bond makes a key save during the 2-2 draw against Scunthorpe. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.
Posh goalkeeper Jonathan Bond makes a key save during the 2-2 draw against Scunthorpe. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.

“We changed the formation to try and win the game, not to shore us up defensively.

“All the substitutes did well. Danny Lloyd was very unlucky not to start the game.”

Posh are next in action at Blackpool on Sunday (February 18). Pool had a terrific 2-0 win at promotion favourites Wigan tonight.