Jonson Clarke-Harris proud as Peterborough United show both sides of their game in Portsmouth win

Clarke-Harris scored twice in the first half as Posh ran out 2-1 winners on Saturday.

The striker has moved back to the top of the League One scoring charts with 15 goals in 26 games after finding space in the box to tap home Poku’s cross and then slamming home a penalty after Ephron Mason-Clark was tripped in the box.

The result moved posh two points behind sixth-placed Barnsley with but have played a game more than the Tykes.

The match wasn’t without its difficulties though as Posh were made to sit deep and defend their lead in the closing stages after missing a host of chances early in the second half- from the likes of Hector Kyprianou, Joe Ward and Jack Taylor.

Clarke-Harris said: “It’s massive for us. It was a game we had to win. They brought a lot of fans, made it loud and made it awkward for us. We got it right from start until probably 77 minutes and they were on top as we got deeper and deeper.

“We should have killed that game. We had the opportunities to go and make it a lot easier for ourselves. It’s a learning curve, we have to shut games completely out and make it more comfortable.

"For the last 15 minutes, we’ve had to dig in and battle. It’s one of these days where we’ve shown that there are two sides to our game. We can battle and we can play nice football as well.”

Clarke-Harris also weighed in on the games most controversial moment when referee Bobby Madley and his linesman decided to rule out Reeco Hackett’s equaliser midway through the second half.

Darren Ferguson praised the referee’s performance, while Pompey boss John Mousinho called the decision ‘bizarre.’

Clarke-Harris said: “It’s just that little bit of luck that we needed. The ball has gone out when I’ve made the tackle on Pack. They got the luck there and we’ve completely got it back so it evened itself out. Full credit to our centre-backs, they dug in until the last minute.”