Darren Ferguson gives his verdict on unlikely goalscoring hero Emmanuel Fernandez

The centre-back was a surprise match winner in Posh’s 2-1 victory at Exeter on Saturday.

The 22-year-old centre-back scored on the stroke of half time with a stunning 30-yard effort that found its way into the far corner after he had carried the ball all the way from the middle of his own half.

That made the score 2-1 and Posh were able to see out the game in the second half, partly down to Fernandez’s defending from dangerous set-pieces.

It was his first league goal, having scored his professional goal in the last minute to salvage an replay in the FA Cup first round tie against Salford at London Road last year.

Fernandez has now started all four games in all competitions this season and is finally enjoying a breakout campaign having first joined the club in the summer of 2021 having previously spent time at Ramsgate and Gillingham.

In those four games, Posh boss Darren Ferguson has been impressed with the budding partnership between Fernandez and Wallin and believes that the 22-year-old is due more credit that he has been getting.

He said: “His performances have been good.

“One thing I’d say about him is that if we’d have signed him in the summer and he played like that, you’d be thinking he’s doing really well. It’s because we’ve had him for so long, he probably doesn’t get as much credit as he deserves.

“Manny is very good at defending set-pieces too, he will go and attack the ball.

“Him and Oscar are a brand new partnership and Oscar is only just getting used to life in England and they have been really good.

“The goal- he picks it up and starts driving in with it, as we want out centre halves to do, and I’m thinking there’s a clear pass onto Kwame. I’m screaming at him ‘Kwame, Kwame’ and then he hit it but there was someone in my way and before I knew it, it was in.

"I was in a bit of shock. It was a great goal.”