Can Peterborough United dare to dream again? Can Fergie's men take advantage of a favourable fixture list to catch a couple of wobbling big hitters?

Frankie Kent’s late winning goal against Shrewsbury Town on Tuesday has opened up some real possibilities for Posh in the next fortnight.

It’s long been presumed that Barnsley would be the team in the top six most likely to be caught by either Posh or Wycombe Wanderers, but not so.

Derby County and Bolton Wanderers now look the most vulnerable. They have both wobbled in the past week to give hope to the chasing pack.

Derby, who sit in the final play-off place, remain seven points ahead of Posh, but have played a game more and visit London Road in the final match of March. The Rams will be confident of beating Oxford and Fleetwood before then.

Bolton, who thrashed Posh 5-0 at the Weston Homes Stadium not so long ago, are still nine points ahead of Posh which seems plenty, but they have played two more games, have a Wembley appearance on their minds and their next two matches are against fellow big hitters Ipswich Town and Sheffield Wednesday.

They could easily lose both, but that won’t matter unless Posh keep winning. On the surface the three matches scheduled before the Derby clash against strugglers Cheltenham and Burton Albion, and at a Lincoln City side Posh thumped earlier in the season, all seem winnable.

It’s all ifs and buts and Posh would trade places with the teams directly above them in a heartbeat, even with the forthcoming fixtures, but well done Kent and co for at least getting the fans dreaming again.

TALKING POINTS FROM POSH v SHREWSBURY…

1) If you’d known before last night’s match that the outcome would be decided on set-pieces you'd assume Shrewsbury would have emerged victorious. Posh have hardly been competent both in scoring from and defending dead ball situations, but it was a different story last night, especially in an attacking sense. Joe Ward’s perfectly placed free kick delivery enabled Jonson Clarke-Harris to nod Posh in front and another fine late delivery was flicked on by substitute Kabongo Tshimanga for Kent to head home an 87th minute winner, his second goal of the season. Posh won the first contact on many set-plays at both ends of the field with the exception of the neat free kick routine which delivered the first-half equaliser for the Shrews. Set pieces are vital at every level of football, but particularly in the lower divisions, so hopefully this is a sign of better things to come.

2) Little has been of Tshimanga since his January arrival at Posh, but he should be feeling good about his involvement in the winning goal. Tshimanga could yet have a role to play in the run-in so any boost to his confidence is important.

3) Posh have outscored their opposition this season in every 15-minute segment of a match apart from between the 75th and 90th minutes. Kent’s late strike means it’s now 10-4 to the opposition in goals scored in the final 15 minutes of a match. Posh haven’t conceded a late goal in their last six League One matches which suggests fitness and concentration have improved under Darren Ferguson.

4) There was a glitch in delivering an official attendance last night, but it will be the lowest League One crowd of the season for sure. The previous lowest was 6,087 for the visit of Fleetwood, also on a Tuesday night, in October. Avoiding a repeat of the flat atmosphere experienced last night is another reason why Posh have to keep in touch with the top six.

5) Kwame Poku’s form nosedived in recent games, but leaving him out of the matchday squad altogether last night was a bold call. It worked out okay, but the success or otherwise of the move will only be seen if he returns refreshed, fit and firing. It will be interesting to see if Ferguson rests Ephron Mason-Clark in a forthcoming match as he has started the look a little jaded. You could see Poku slipping into Mason-Clark’s position on the left.

6) Kent understandably took the plaudits for his match-winning heroics last night, but the form of central defensive partner Ronnie Edwards was equally important. He’s toughened up and far more difficult to bully compared to earlier in the season. It’s fair to say Shrewsbury’s forward line is weak, but Edwards also handled Sheffield Wednesday giant Michael Smith comfortably when he needed to at the weekend.