A tale of two very different managers, keeping feet on the ground and the stats that suggest Cobblers are no longer the number one derby opponents for Peterborough United fans
Beating your local rivals was the perfect way to leave the League One relegation zone for the first time this season.
The only disappointment for Peterborough United was failing to better the 4-0 thumping the Cobblers dished out in this fixture at the Weston Homes Stadium last season. The scoring chances certainly arrived regularly enough for that to have happened, but in the end Posh had to survive a nervy final quarter of the game before sealing a 2-1 win.
And, frustratingly, that gave Cobblers staff and fans the chance to claim they were unlucky losers, that they had been undone by an apparent poor refereeing decision in the 10th minute when Jack Perkins drew blood with a high boot into Posh skipper Peter Kioso.
It was all nonsense of course. Visiting manager Kevin Nolan’s attention would have been better served wondering how one of League One’s meanest defences were carved open so easily and so often by a team who started the day in the bottom four. Pulling nine outfield players behind the ball should have made life more difficult for Posh going forward, but instead the hosts were too mobile, too creative and simply too good, until they started shooting.
Cobblers stayed in the game because of Posh wastefulness in front of goal – two-goal Harry Leonard excepted of course - rather than any heroic defending. Putting converted forward Sam Hoskins up against the speed of Kyrell Lisbie was a baffling tactic as Posh peppered the Cobblers goal with 31 shots.
And Cobblers only managed a goal of their own with a big helping hand from Posh. They enjoyed plenty of territorial advantage towards the end, but lacked the wit or quality to create a chance from open play. None of that was referee John Busby’s fault.
OTHER TALKING POINTS FROM POSH 2, COBBLERS 1...
1) In contrast Luke Williams is a far more measured manager. Win or lose he’s been a polite, softly-spoken presence before and after games, accepting of perceived poor refereeing decisions and generally backing players who have clearly reacted well to his methods. And that made a rather emotional press conference after a derby day win all the more surprising, and pretty encouraging. It would have been easy to bask in the glory of victory in his first experience of this particular local skirmish, but Williams used his media time to offer criticism of his team’s mental frailty in the final 20 minutes, while also refusing to accept a suggestion that a poor finish to the game somehow diluted the strength of Posh bragging rights.
2) Williams was correct to address the Posh problems so openly, and it was quite clever to do it after a victory in a big game. Keeping feet on the ground after an emotional success and a rise out of the relegation zone is no bad thing. Posh made so many poor decisions going forward in the final quarter it became incredibly frustrating. Shots were taken when better placed teammates were available and sometimes shots weren’t taken at all as dribbles were preferred. Risky passes were tried when safe options were available so the sting was never really taken out of the game. It meant Cobblers could take possession and launch the ball forward to powerful substitute Tom Eaves at every opportunity. It was a singular tactic, but one that caused Posh issues.
3) Williams makes subtle tactical decisions that still catch the eye. From Cobblers kick offs yesterday Posh sent their back four to within 10 yards of the halfway line in the knowledge the visitors wanted their goalkeeper to boot the ball as far upfield as possible to eager forward players who now ran the risk of running offside. The detail that goes into match planning theses days is off the charts.
4) It’s not certain that winger Lisbie is in full control of all his body parts when he picks up speed, but my goodness what an exciting talent he has become. For the second game in a row Lisbie set the tone for the Posh attack from kick off by driving past Hoskins at will. He played a big part in what turned out to be a crucial second goal and defenders trailing in his wake was a common sight yesterday. When he finds a consistently decent end product he will be some player at League One level.
5) Matt Garbett played on the other flank and Williams summed up the impact of the Kiwi international best: “It’s not a position he is entirely comfortable with, but I enjoyed his performance. It was summed up for me when he chased an opponent all the way back towards our penalty area, won the ball back and then kept possession with a good pass.” Garbett is all class. His vision and varairy of passing enables him to stand out at this level.
6) There was another performance from Archie Collins yesterday to embarrass those who have criticised him recently. He played the slide-rule pass that set up Harry Leonard for the first Posh goal and was the man on the goalline hoofing the ball clear when Cobblers threatened an unlikely equaliser. Basically he can do it all and he pops up everywhere. Posh would be a far weaker team without him so I hope there is no financial pressure to sell him in January.
7) Williams shows a pleasing level of trust in his subs. Taking Kioso off for James Dornelly with half an hour to go might have had much to do with avoiding a second yellow card for the skipper, but it was still a boost for Dornelly who hadn’t appeared in a League One game since October 18. Dornelly must now be the favourite to replace the suspended Kioso at Port Vale next Saturday and he will go into that game with confidence.
8) Posh can’t get too carried away by leaving the bottom four behind. Posh are just three points off 12th, but they are only out of the drop zone on goal difference. The festive programme remains hugely important with the next four matches against teams in the bottom half of the table. Having said that Posh have picked up 66.66% of the available League One points since Williams arrived which is admittedly a small sample size. Maintain that level for the rest of the season though and they will finish around the 75 point mark in a season when fewer points than usual are likely to be required to go up, while more points will be needed to stay up.
9) I know some fans took the 80-1 recently on offer for Harry Leonard to finish top scorer in League One season. The designated penalty taker is now four goals adrift of the top scorers. He would have been a bit closer, but for some poor decision making from his teammates yesterday.
10) It’s now 53 years – the Fourth Division title winning season of 1973-74 – since the gate for a Posh v Cobblers Football League game at London Road topped 10,000. Cobblers fans did their bit yesterday by selling out their allocation of 1,600 or so in a total crowd of 9,260. In contrast the last three meetings with Cambridge United at London Road have attracted 12,370, 11,641 and 12,766.