Peterborough United manager delighted to see goals flying in from midfield, but he was shocked by the penalty that never was!

Peterborough United manager Grant McCann was delighted to see his strikers didn’t score in Saturday’s 3-0 League One win over Morecambe at the Weston Homes Stadium!
Posh striker Jack Marriott is thwarted by Morecambe goalkeeper Connor Ripley. Photo: David Lowndes.Posh striker Jack Marriott is thwarted by Morecambe goalkeeper Connor Ripley. Photo: David Lowndes.
Posh striker Jack Marriott is thwarted by Morecambe goalkeeper Connor Ripley. Photo: David Lowndes.

McCann realises goals must come from all areas of the pitch to maintain a promotion push this season, and not just from deadly duo Jonson Clarke-Harris and Jack Marriott, and Morecambe were eventually blown away by three goals from midfielders, Joe Ward, Ben Thompson and Hector Kyprianou.

Surprisingly table-topping Posh are now the only team in League One with a 100 per cent winning record after two games.

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"Successful sides need goals from all areas of the pitch,” McCann stated. “We cannot rely on Jack and Jonno scoring every game so three goals from midfield was really pleasing. Two of them (Thompson and Kyprianou) scored on their full debuts so that was good.

Joe Ward opens the scoring for Posh. Photo: David Lowndes.Joe Ward opens the scoring for Posh. Photo: David Lowndes.
Joe Ward opens the scoring for Posh. Photo: David Lowndes.

"The strikers still had an impact on the game. Jonno should have had a penalty and Jack played very well again.

"I loved our first goal because of the quick passing it involved and the third one was a terrific break, two good passes, and a very good finish.

“On the whole it was a decent display, but we can play better. We certainly started the game better than at Cheltenham the previous week. We also finished both halves well, but in between Morecambe had some good moments.

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"Anyone who thinks we should always beat Cheltenham and Morecambe are very naive. The menality of the players has to be right. Cheltenham were excellent for half a game against us and it was obvious Morecambe have some very good players. They opened us up in certain areas at times after we had been sloppy in possession, but we have a young goalkeeper (Lucas Bergstrom) in top form.

“We had to be patient and build carefully at times, but in the end it was a good result. Our fluidity, rotation and movement were good.”

Despite the convincing scoreline Posh were left irritated by the performance of Northampton referee Dean Whitestone who awarded a second-half penalty after a foul on Jonson Clarke-Harris, only to be swayed by an assistant referee’s flag for offside. Posh were convinced Clarke-Harris had pounced on a backpass.

"I didn’t even need to look back at the incident to know it was a backpass,” McCann moaned. “It was obvious to everyone in the ground apart from four officials and when we did look back at it, it’s obvious it was a clear mistake. Their player flicked it back and Jonno was alive to win what should have been a penalty. It beggars belief the officials missed it. The referee had a bad penalty moment at Hull last weekend

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"I'm sure he’ll look back at it and admit he made a mistake, but it’s just not good enough. It could have been important as they almost scored soon after it to make it 2-1.

"It’s swings and roundabouts though as the incident got us going again.”