Darren Ferguson gave 'tremendous' credit to his Peterborough United players for their desire to come back against Barnsley, but he was bemused by decisions once again

Jonson Clarke-Harris, in potentially his final match at London Road, scored twice to complete a comeback to 2-2 that looked unlikely when Posh had fallen behind to two sloppy goals finished off by Herbie Kane and Devante Cole in the first half an hour.

Both sides went onto create chances to win the match, but Posh were denied a great chance to score a third when referee Adam Herczeg waved away Posh’s penalty appeals after Luca Connell appeared to bundle Ephron Mason-Clark over in the box.

Posh also felt hard done by for the first goal when John McAtee slid in on Nicholas Bilokapic, injuring the Posh number one as well as ensuring the ball deflected to Kane for a simple finish.

Posh’s second consecutive 2-2 draw coupled with Bolton’s 2-0 win at Fleetwood saw them drop to third and Ferguson’s men are also now level on points with Derby having played a game more. The Rams came from 2-0 down away at Oxford to win 3-2 on Friday night.

Posh now have a huge game at Derby on New Year’s Day (3pm kick-off).

Ferguson said: “Tremendous credit to my players as what character they showed again to come from behind. We’ve not been two goals down too often this season, especially at home.

“We were against a very good team too, as good as we’ve played at this place. We showed great character, determination and desire not to lose a football game.

"I have to really give my players credit, fatigue is kicking in, but we’re finding ways to not lose games.

“I thought somebody would win it as 2-2, but I didn’t know who it would be. Ricky has the chance where the ball has just got away from him, he’s probably an inch off it, and we had one or two other chances when we started crossing it. But they were always a threat though because they’re a good team.

“People may look at it and say it’s four points dropped, but over the course of the season there are going to be points dropped and around this time at the most.

"We must be due a penalty. We could have had four in the last two games. It’s a clear foul on Ephron.

"Anywhere else on the pitch it’s a foul, but we don’t seem to be getting that little bit of luck.

"I think we’ve got the least amount of penalties in the league this season, which for a team that attacks like we do, is a remarkable stat.”

Clarke-Harris, who was seconds away from a summer move to Bristol Rovers and is expected to leave in January, was the hero for Posh in his first league start since October 21 against Wycombe.

Paying tribute to his talisman, Ferguson said: “It’s brilliant for him. He’s a great example of someone who has trained well and been great with the younger players.

"He knows his time is up at the club and he’s probably going to get a move in January and tonight is why. As a box striker, there is no-one better in the league, it is as simple as that.

“I told him yesterday, he is the last person that has anything to prove to anyone so just play your normal game and once we start to get quality into the box, he scores goals. It’s simple.

“If we get the penalty, he’d have had a hat-trick, he’d have scored it. He was great tonight.”