ALAN SWANN’S talking points from an FA Cup humbling: ‘The manner of the defeat hurt more than the result, chastening and eye-opening, common failings, poor planning, but shame the players into winning at Wimbledon and all will be forgotten’

Chorley have only won once in it all season. There are only three teams below them in a division three below Peterborough United’s level.

And yet they turned up at the Weston Homes Stadium yesterday (November 28), conceded a goal inside two minutes and promptly ran all over the team currently second in League One.

This was no fluke result courtesy of good fortune, a brave backs-to-the-wall effort, brilliant goalkeeping or a dodgy referee. That can happen to anyone. It’s why the FA Cup is so great.

What shouldn’t happen, and rarely happens, is the team 89 places lower in the official rankings dominating the ball, passing it better, defending with greater desire and organisation and showing greater attacking creativity. The final scoreline of 2-1 flattered Posh. If it had finished 5-1 it wouldn’t have flattered Chorley as they struck the woodwork twice and saw a penalty saved.

Of course we must reflect on the sheer awfulness of the home side, but it’s important to recognise just how good Chorley were. They looked faster and fitter which is remarkable for a part-time club managed by a primary school headteacher.

It was both chastening(live on tv to boot) and eye-opening for Posh so on with the debrief...

1) This wasn’t exactly a one-off performance. Posh have been dreadful in three of their last four competitive outings and could have deservedly lost each of them by three goals or more. The hope was a much-improved effort against Plymouth on Tuesday was the start of something much better, but after 10 minutes of this game, and despite the boost of a second minute goal, it was clear the recent failings were still there. The ball was passed too slowly and too often passed backwards or sideways allowing Chorley, who were by no means negative, to get back into their defensive shape comfortably.

2) Without Jonson Clarke-Harris up top, Posh looked bereft of attacking ideas. The first half chance for Mo Eisa arrived after a breakaway from a Chorley corner, and even then Sammie Szmodics passed it to a player completely out of form rather than to a self-confident player in Siriki Dembele. And that was that until the 95th minute when Jack Taylor and Dembele combined effectively only for the latter’s close range shot to be well saved by the Chorley goalkeeper. It would have been a travesty if extra time had been forced. Posh had one shot on target all half and that included 35 minutes when chasing a goal to stay in the FA Cup. That’s pitiful, but not unusual recently. It was quite sad, but understandable in the circumstances, to see centre-back Mark Beevers sent up front for the final moments. That’s how lacking in ideas Posh were going forward, against a non-league team.

3) Eisa will inevitably get plenty of flak. That’s fair enough as he is heading for Tyrone Barnett territory as far as big-money flops go, but was he any worse than first-team regulars like Kent and Beevers, Butler and Broom, and Brown and Dembele? Don’t shove all the blame on one man’s shoulders. If Posh are committed to playing a sole striker the lack of an alternative to Clarke-Harris shows a chronic lack of planning.

4) Posh often knocked the ball around going nowhere yesterday and then got Beevers to fling 40 yard diagonals. Why? Beevers is Jackie Charlton rather than Bobby Charlton. He’s an old school defender, he isn’t Glenn Hoddle, It’s why Chorley didn’t often press Beevers in possession. They didn’t need to as he couldn’t hurt them.

5) Posh didn’t lose this game because they were complacent after Taylor’s second minute goal. That would be too convenient an excuse. They lacked desire, focus and concentration, They picked up no second balls, they won very few tackles. Manager Darren Ferguson urges his team to be brave on the ball, but yesterday they looked terrified of it. I’ve rare;y seen so many short simple passses go astray.

6) Chorley’s second goal came courtesy of a clever set piece. Assistant manager Mark Robson works hard on Posh set-pieces and corners and yet still they carry very little threat. Posh did score from a corner yesterday, but partly because of an errant defensive header.

7) If you’d said Posh would win two out of three games v Plymouth, Chorley and AFC Wimbledon, you’d probably have taken the two League One games and if Posh do return home with three points from Plough Lane on Wednesday, yesterday’s miserable effort will soon be forgotten. That’s a big if though. Confidence can’t be high so we must all hope the players are shamed into a massive improvement next time out. Ferguson has a massive dilemma though. Reece Brown, Dan Butler, Ryan Broom and Szmodics could hardly argue if they were dropped, but, with the exception of (hopefully) fit-again Nathan Thompson, the possible replacements look weak or too inexperienced. For starters Posh must hope Clarke-Harris is okay to play.