Peterborough United punished by a Wigan Athletic team who were far superior in front of goal

While the talented Wigan Athletic 21 year-old showed composure and a ruthless streak to bag a match-winning hat-trick - or maybe a double as there was some debate over the second goal – Posh spent 90 minutes lashing at the ball and sending it skywards.

Until added time when Josh Knight and Ricky-Jade Jones struck from close range to make it a more exciting ending than looked likely.

There has long been a suspicion Posh would batter someone soon, but the reverse was always a distinct possibility, that missed chances would help deliver a defeat. All it took was a lethal striker among the opposition which is why Wigan left with three points from a 3-2 win.

Posh shouldn’t panic. Wigan were good as they completed a double over a Posh team who have only lost five League One games all this season. Posh were also good, until they got near and inside the opposition penalty area. They will surely come again and they have an immediate opportunity in Devon on Tuesday night.

This was just one of those days when things didn’t happen for them. They conceded what turned out to be the decisive third goal after Wigan had been reduced to 10 men by their seventh yellow card of the game.

Posh boss Darren Ferguson had two big selection calls to make and he went for Nicholas Bilokapic in goal rather than Jed Steer, while handing a debut to teenage Brentford loanee MIchael Olakigbe on the right side of the Posh attack.

Wigan’s starting XI didn’t look like a bottom half of the table side, which they wouldn’t be if they hadn’t had eight points deducted before the start of the season. Their deadline day signing, striker Charlie Kelman, was on the substitutes’ bench.

New Coventry City big money signing Ephron Mason-Clarke was lively as Posh dominated the opening stages. They were patient, they probed intelligently and they pushed their visitors back.

Clear chances didn’t really arrive in that spell until a shot from Joel Randall forced Wigan ‘keeper Sam Tickle to scramble across his goal-line to make a save. Hector Kyprianou couldn’t quite bundle the rebound home as a post got in the way.

And then Posh got hit by a sucker punch. It was a well crafted goal though with highly-rated centre-back Charlie Hughes pinging a fine ball out to wing-back Jordan Jones. Jones had come on as an early substitute and it was move that didn’t harm Wigan and he drifted past Jadel Katongo and pulled the ball back accurately for Thelo Aasgaard to finish with a first-time strike.

The match became more even after that with Wigan’s passing and movement causing frustration in the Posh ranks. One move five minutes before the break saw Wigan switch the ball from side to side before Martial Godo left a defender on his backside only to see Bilokapic save his shot.

Most of the Posh threat came down the left where Mason-Clark received some rough treatment, but the glorious opportunity in the last minute of the half came down the right after a fine inter-change between Katongo and Olakigbe with the latter’s cross begging to be headed home by Ricky-Jones. Instead he nodded it wide.

Posh started the second-half slowly though and, after Jones had volleyed wide, the visitors struck a second goal in the 53rd minutes. Mason-Clark’s misplaced flick took two team-mates out of the game, including left-back Harrison Burrows, and Wigan exploited the gap with Godo teeing up Aaasgaard. He drilled the ball low and hard with teammate Josh Magennis claiming he contributed a crucial touch.

Posh almost responded immediately, but no-one was on hard to convert a fine pull-back from Katongo before Mason-Clark and Jones were guilty of thrashing the ball over the bar from inside the penalty area. The shooting of Randall and Collins from the edge of the area was just as bad.

Visiting midfielder Matt Smith was then sent off for two quick yellow cards in succession, but a change of shape to wing-backs didn’t initially help Posh.

Some skill out wide from Stephen Humphrys teed up Aasgaard for a third goal four minutes from time much to the obvious dismay of a disappointed home crowd.

But the players kept at it. Fine crosses from substitute Davis Ajiboye and Burrows led to goals, but one final assault on the Wigan area came to nothing leaving Posh down in fourth place, but they could climb back up to second by winning in Exeter on Tuesday.

Posh: Nicholas Bilokapic, Harrison Burrows, Ronnie Edwards, Josh Knight, Jadel Katongo (sub Malik Mothersille, 83 mins), Hector Kyprianou, Archie Collins, Ephron Mason-Clark, Joel Randall (sub David Ajiboye, 69 mins), Michael Olakigbe (sub Jonson Clarke-Harris 69 mins), Ricky-Jade Jones

Unused subs: Jed Steer, Romoney Crichlow, Jeando Fuchs, Ryan De Havilland, Malik Mothersille

Wigan: Sam Tickle, Steven Sessegnon (sub Jordan Jones, 7 mins), Sean Clare (sub Scott Smith, 63 mins), Charlie Hughes (sub Jason Kerr, 63 mins), Charlie Goode, Luke Chambers, Matt Smith, Baba Adeeko, Thelo Aasgaard, Martial Godo (sub Charlie Kelman, 72 mins), Josh Magennis (sub Stephen Humphrys, 72 mins).

Unused subs: Ben Amos, Callum McManaman.

Goals: Posh – Knight (90 + 2 mins), Jones (90 + 4 mins).

Wigan – Aasgaard (21 mins & 86 mins), Magennis (53 mins).

Sending off: Wigan – Matt Smith (second yellow, foul).

Cautions: Posh – Kyprianou (foul). Ajiboye (foul).

Wigan – Hughes (foul), Jones (foul), Magennis (dissent), Clare (foul), Matt Smith (deliberate handball), Aasgard (dissent).

Referee: Daniel Middleton 6.

Attendance: 8,184 (556 Wigan).