Peterborough United enjoy better form, results and good fortune, Odoh's biggest fan and other tales of first-minute dismissals

Peterborough United have enjoyed an excellent eight days. The stylish football, while not matching the levels of last season, has returned, goals are flowing again and the the gap to the relegation zone is growing, albeit slow.

But Posh have beaten half-strength Huddersfield, a weakened Wrexham and a Shrewsbury side that self-imploded after just a handful of seconds at the Weston Homes Stadium. That’s not an attempt to belittle the brave possession football allied to deep levels of spirit and commitment delivered by Posh, but it is a warning that the race to avoid relegation is far from over.

Posh have shown that a week in football can transform fortunes for the better, but it can go the other way as well. The Posh fixture list remains fraught with danger, but it is comforting to know the next game at draw specialists Blackpool on Tuesday (March 4) will be approached with confidence rather than trepidation. The power of momentum should never be underestimated and nor should the impact of refereeing decisions and good fortune. Shrewsbury looked to have been denied a blatant penalty at 1-1 yesterday.

TALKING POINTS FROM POSH 3, SHREWSBURY 1…

1) Posh played for 104 minutes against 10 men and it wasn’t until the 103rd of them that victory was sealed despite some excellent approach play and fine individual displays from forward players. That suggests Posh are still not making the most of some great positions in and around the opposition penalty area. Having said that the passing tempo was impressive and some of the movement from the likes of Malik Mothersille and Brad Ihionvien made life tough for the visiting defenders. You can see the players have faith in the manager’s preferred style of play again. The Posh football we’ve come to love watching is returning.

2) Winger Abraham Odoh has a big fan in former Posh promotion hero turned punchy pundit Gaby Zakuani. He was backing a winger signed from Harrogate Town last summer while others were running him down. Maybe Zakuani knows best as Odoh has been a star performer in an outstanding eight days for his club. He appears to be intelligent enough to find good positions and calm enough to stay patient and deliver the right pass or cross rather than a hopeful one. He did it twice yesterday to give simple finishes to Malik Mothersille and Chris Conn-Clarke.

3) The goal for Conn-Clarke at the death was a tap-in, but one that could become very significant. Of all the summer signings Posh made, a player who scored 22 National League goals for Altrincham generated the most excitement, but it hasn’t happened for the 23 year-old who has even been usurped in his specialist position by a forward playing out of position. Even an easy finish can generate confidence and it will be interesting to see how Conn-Clarke develops during the run-in.

4) It’s a sign of how well Posh are doing that injury bulletins regarding Kwame Poku are now greeted with a resigned shrug rather than howls of despair. Next Saturday is the latest return date for a player who still tops the Posh League One scoring charts.

5) Posh game management was far from perfect yesterday. Late corners needed to be kept away from Shrewsbury’s big goalkeeper Jamal Blackman as he was the main man with his booming kicks in Shrewsbury’s attacking strategy. Instead two in a row landed in Blackman’s hands.

6) Another game another worrying performance from an EFL referee although Martin Woods was correct to dismiss visiting skipper John Marquis in the 13th second, a joint EFL record apparently. I have seen first minute dismissals in Posh games before including fiery midfielder Derek Payne in a League Cup tie against Reading at London Road after he lunged wildly at Phil Parkinson, the current Wrexham manager, in 1997. Payne was surprisingly keen to be interviewed after the game and revealed he had spent the morning of the match in a police station regarding the disappearance of money from the Posh training ground. Payne was furious and rightly so as the theft had nothing to do with him. It’s easy to forget footballers are human beings and acts that seem inexplicable can be caused by off-field issues.

Posh centre-back Simon Rea was dismissed 15 seconds into a third tier fixture at Cardiff City for a last-man professional foul on home striker Robert Earnshaw in 2002. Posh lost the game 3-0. And Rea is in the record books for committing the third earliest red card offence in EFL history after Marquis and Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Kevin Pressman who also lasted 13 seconds of an EFL match in 2000.