Perseverance pays off for Nathanael Ogbeta as he scores his first Peterborough United goal

Ogbeta was in the right place at the right time on Saturday to poke home the rebound from an effort that Kwame Poku saw saved to seal a crucial 2-0 victory for Posh over Derby County.

The goal he scored not only moved Posh to within one point of the play-offs but was also his first for the club since arriving on loan in January.

The 21-year-old had only scored twice previously in his career, both for Shrewsbury, with his last coming in a 3-0 victory over Plymouth in April 2021.

Darren Ferguson heaped praise on his loan signing after the match, who he revealed was his first priority when he arrived at the club, especially considering his strong relationship with Swansea boss and ex-Posh captain Russell Martin.

“I used to do that when I was ten when I was a winger and used to score a lot. I’m a little bit rusty as it’s been a while but I was happy to bring it out and my parents were in the crowd so it was a flashback to old times” Ogbeta said of his acrobatic double backflip celebration.

“I’m so grateful to get my opportunity to play and to get my goal. It’s been a long time coming and I’ve had a difficult time not playing at Swansea but being able to play here regularly has been such a blessing.

“I’ve been trying to do the same sorts of things in previous games but not seeing the results. I’ve been reading mindset books though and they talk about perseverance. I had to be patience to get my goals and assists and now it’s starting to roll, I’m really happy and it’s started to give me more energy and belief.

"I’m hungry to keep improving and to keep affecting games.

“Playing under the gaffer had been really good. He tried to sign me a couple of times when I was at Shrewsbury so I know he knows me and he’s poured belief into me.

"In terms of his man management and knowing how to get the best out of players, he’s certainly taken a leaf out of his dads book.

“Just after Cheltenham- when we were all down- he pulled me and told me he was delighted with how I was doing, that just kept me believing in what I was doing in a difficult time and now the whole script has changed and we’re really pushing for the play-offs.

“Going through my clips with the coaching staff has really helped me to build a good relationship with Ephron Mason-Clark in terms of creating two vs ones and getting on the overlap as well as improving defensively. I’m not the best header but working with the team is really helping me to improve.”

Ogbeta started the game at left back but was moved forward to wingback after half an hour following a tactical switch because of the dominance of the visitors.

He added: “It was a really good team performance, especially in the second half. We started really slow and it was hard to get into the game but we built momentum and we came out flying in the second half.

“The gaffer made a really good change to the back five and it gave me more licence to get forward. It gave me the freedom to get forward and that’s what I love doing.

“The gaffer made the change in the first half but I was still playing too deep, in the second he gave me the licence to go and press the full back. When I get the licence to do that, that’s me at my best.”