Peterborough United boss admits draw with promotion-chasing Wycombe Wanderers felt like a defeat, but they only had themselves to blame
Peterborough United boss Darren Ferguson was left deflated after his side were unable to claim what he believes would have been a deserved three points at home to Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday.
Posh led, courtesy of Malik Mothersille’s early penalty, right up until the 93rd minute when Richard Kone smashed home after pouncing on a loose ball in the box following a free-kick.
The Posh boss was left disappointed with missed opportunities to make the game safe both before the equaliser as well as after when Ricky-Jade Jones missed what Ferguson described as an ‘absolute sitter’ in the dying seconds.
While keen to point to his own team’s failings, the Posh coaching staff were also thought to be unhappy with a number of key decisions in the match; including a non-award of a penalty for a foul on Cian Hayes, a potential offside for Kone’s equaliser as well as the failure to award a foul on Oscar Wallin seconds before the incident the led to the free-kick from which Wycombe eventually scored.
Ferguson, however, refused to discuss the performance of referee Scott Oldham when quizzed at full time.
The point still moved Posh a point further away from the relegation zone - the gap is now six- but they still dropped two places with Exeter and Northampton both picking up wins.
Ferguson said: “It’s cruel, after what the players put into that, we deserved to win. We have got ourselves to blame for not killing the game off with the opportunities we had. The missing part today was as clear as day. If you get the second goal, the game is done and we probably get more.
“The best chance was the one at 1-1, it was an open goal. It looked an absolute sitter, I don’t know how we’ve missed the target. That’s where we are though, over the course of the season, we have not been as ruthless as we normally are and the quality has not been as good as I would expect. We had two or three really good chances at 1-0 to finish the game off.
“We were in complete control in the first half and thoroughly deserved to be ahead and it was a great penalty from Malik. Our press was really good and we were aggressive and got after them.
“It was only in the last seconds where we had a lapse of concentration and Jed made a great save. We had another one from Oscar in the second half where they hit the post. They only got joy from our mistakes.
“Then there were some key decisions and the foul on Cian is a blatant penalty, just because you give one doesn’t mean you can’t give two. There was not enough control in the second half. They got control without hurting us and we dealt with it fine.
“They threw players up front and when we won it back, the first pass wasn’t good enough. We were in with one or two passes. We just lost a bit on control and composure.
“When the subs came on, we got it back and I thought we’d seen it through. I felt we’d go and nick another goal, but unfortunately not. I can’t ask anymore from my team as they have given absolutely everything. It feels like a defeat. We keep our unbeaten run going, but it’s disappointing we couldn’t finish them off.
“The most important point is the chances we miss, particularly the one at 1-0 when the keeper is out of his goal. We must have a shot on goal there."
Posh’s next match is the Cambridgeshire Derby at the Abbey Stadium on Saturday (12:30pm). The U’s are 10 points adrift of Posh and safety after losing 1-0 at Wigan on Saturday.