A Peterborough United display to have us dreaming of the beach, JJ closing in on scoring record, why even the nicest man in football became irritated, an a nod to Benny Hill

The sun was shining, probably prompting thoughts of the beach, as two teams stuck in League One no-man’s land delivered a contest full of honest endeavour, but very little quality in South London.

AFC Wimbledon and Peterborough United drew 1-1 at Plough Lane which was a travesty of a scoreline given how much time was spent by the home side peppering the visiting penalty area with crosses.

Posh survived many alarms to totter to 50 points, a usually reliable safety benchmark, with eight games to go. ‘The Dons’ will treat that tally as a success given they were written off as relegation certainties following promotion last season, but Posh are used to much better accomplishments at this level.

As it is they will probably better last season’s finishing position of 18th and they are just a point short of last season’s finishing total. It’s progress I guess, but Posh looked exactly what they are yesterday, a weak team desperately in need of help.

Thankfully that help is on the horizon, arriving in time for Easter apparently, although I’ll believe it when I see it.

TALKING POINTS FROM DONS 1, POSH 1…

1) Posh played okay for the first 10 minutes and very well for 10 minutes of the second-half during which they fashioned a fine equaliser for JJ Morgan. Morgan barely impacted the game apart from his goal, but he has stepped up commendably since Harry Leonard dropped out of the team to undergo surgery. That’s a goal in each of the last four games for the England under 20 international, the first Posh player to do that since Jonson Clarke-Harris in 2022. Morgan also scored in his first three Posh appearances earlier this season which suggests a confidence player. The Posh record for scoring in consecutive Football League appearances is seven, set by Aaron Mclean at the end of the 2006-07 season and the start of the following campaign.

2) The worst thing to happen for Posh yesterday was an early injury to their former striker Matty Stevens. Omar Bugiel came on and troubled Posh all afternoon with his pace and power. Suddenly the long ball over the top, a tactic the hosts soon adopted after their own poor start to the game, became an issue. Posh don’t operate a particular convincing defensive line. They do win a few offsides, but you often see opponents racing clear of Posh defenders onto long straight passes which means goalkeeper Alex Bass has to remain alert.

3) As well as being in the nicest man in football, Posh boss Luke Williams also possesses a decent turn of phrase. After watching some comedy defending by his team in the latter stages which included a foul throw, a goalkeeper slipping over, a goalkeeper belting a ball against his own captain, a honking pass from a centre-back straight to Bugiel clear in front of goal, terrible backpasses and panicky clearances Williams proposed playing the Benny Hill theme over those highlights.

4) Referee Scott Jackson did test the ‘managerial nice man’ theory. Even Williams showed public dissatisfaction at home players throwing opponents to the floor and grabbing chunks of shirts without fear of conceding a free kick in the second-half. And someone needs to tell me if there is an unofficial refereeing edict that forbids cautions in the opening stages of games. Early on yesterday Cian Hayes was too slick and skilful for Ryan Johnson who just casually, and quite deliberately, tripped him up. A few minutes later JJ Morgan beat his man who then grabbed him pushed him to the floor. Both actions stopped promising attacks so were blatant cautions, but Posh only won free kicks. Us media men keep banging on about officials, but such egregious mis-use of the laws are incredibly frustrating. The failure to show yellow cards just encourages foul play. Officials need to realise this, but I fear the majority are beyond help.

5) How good it was to see Posh score two minutes after AFC Wimbledon staged a goalie sit down to enable a team-talk. Posh suddenly springing into life, mainly through the dynamism of Hayes, spooked the home side into what is sadly a standard, and very embarrassing, charade. To hear home fans grumble loudly about perceived Posh time-wasting in the final minutes was therefore amusing.

6) Good on Williams for praising Posh fans after the game. Given what they were watching the volume and consistency of support were off the charts.