Peterborough Sports claim a vital win in relegation battle, but there's still a mountain to climb
Peterborough Sports won their ‘must-win' match at fellow strugglers Alfreton Town to breathe life into their National League North season.
The city side won 2-0 with second-half goals from Max Booth and Luca Miller, and it was just as well they did as results elsewhere were not particularly favourable.
Sports moved up a place to 22nd, but remain three points, as well as those two places, from safety as other relegation candidates Oxford City and Hereford United both won. Hereford annoyingly beat title chasers South Shields.
It was though a morale-boosting first win in 10 games for Sports ahead of a match against mid-table Marine at PIMS Park on Tuesday (March 17, 7.45pm kick off).
‘The Turbines’ started promisingly in Alfreton with Booth driving a first time effort straight at Charlie Casper from the edge of the box inside the opening 10 minutes.
Alfreton grew into the first-half as Lewis Salmon rose to meet a cross inside the box, but saw his effort from close-range deflect for a corner. Minutes later, they struck the woodwork as Max Hunt fired an effort from inside the box following a poor clearance from a long throw-in.
The first-half finished with chances at both ends as Kaine Felix’s long-throw was nodded straight into the hands of Casper by Anthony Stewart before Adam Lund headed a free-kick wide of the post for the hosts.
But Sports started the second half strongly and were rewarded by a breakthrough goal on 47 minutes as Stewart’s high ball forward was brought down well by Booth who beat his defender before perfectly guiding the ball into the bottom left corner.
The hosts responded as former Sports loanee Bayley McCann drilled an effort towards the far post, but visiting ‘keeper Peter Crook made a fine low save.
Alfreton searched hard for an equaliser with Salmon and Josh Ayres firing chances wide from close-range, but Sports secured the three points deep into stoppage time as Elliott Whitehouse and Marcel Oakley combined well on the right before feeding Miller who smashed it into the top right corner from a tight angle.
Sports: Crook, Oakley, Stewart, Kamga, Wood, Whitehouse, Jarvis (sub McLintock, 64 mins), Cadogan, Miller, Booth (sub Coulthirst. 73 mins), Felix.
Unused Subs: Edwards, Jeffers, Carayol, Willis.
Alfreton: Casper, Newall, Lund, Hunt, Fewster (sub, McDonagh 62mins), Cantrill, Ayres, Salmon (sub Alker. 80 mins) McCann (sub Osborne, 77 mins), Newell, Freeman.