Peterborough United's first fixtures were not as friendly as some believe, promising first impressions, sharing goals around, League One might not suit Fuchs and a dismal refereeing display

What a gift of a start to play Cheltenham Town (150-1 for the title) and Morecambe (250-1) in the opening two games is their logic.

Utter nonsense of course. Sure Posh would have fancied six points after two games, but knowing the throroughness of manager Grant McCann’s preparations he would have made the players aware Morecambe opened last season with a 2-2 draw at Ipswich Town, who started the 2021-22 campaign as hot title favourites. Ipswich also lost their next game, 2-1 at Cheltenham.

McCann spoke about getting the mentality of the players right for games when they will be hotly fancied to win. Going 2-0 down at Cheltenham poked the big beast and Posh have scored six times without reply in 135 or so minutes since. Mentally they look fine and the way have finished both matches so far suggests physically they ain’t bad either.

Of course there will be much tougher battles to come and before August is out Posh will have played two of the biggest clubs in the division, Sheffield Wednesday and Derby County.

Other talking points from Peterborough United 3, Morecambe 0…

1) Sharing the goals around will be key to any success Posh have. Jonson Clarke-Harris netted 31 times in the promotion season of 2020-21, but 14 other players also found their way on to the scoresheet. Fitness issues permitting it’s difficult to see Clarke-Harris and Marriott (who was excellent yesterday, ironically apart from his finishing) failing to score 20 goals plus apiece this season, but it’s pleasing to see five different players have scored in the opening two games.

2) League One won’t necessarily suit Jeando Fuchs this season. Posh will expect to see plenty of the ball in many matches and the Cameroon international is a destroyer rather than a creator in midfield areas. It was no real surprise that silky smooth Hector Kyprianou was preferred in midfield yesterday even though McCann suggested Fuchs’ absence was, at least partly, down to an injury. Fuchs was the only outfield substitute not used by Posh against Morecambe.

3) First impressions are not always reliable, but Ben Thompson’s aggression is similar to that of club legend Mick Halsall (there is no higher praise) and he has more on-the-ball quality. Kyprianou looked unhurried and classy, while David Ajiboye delivered some excitement on his first appearance as a late substitute and goalkeeper Lucas Bergstrom has made key saves in both of the opening two games.

4) Posh are surely right to try and replace Sammie Szmodics from outside the existing squad. If they can’t, Thompson is currently the best bet to fill his shoes, but he has plenty to offer as a defensive midfielder as well as one who can make well-timed runs into the penalty area. Posh did pass the ball well at times gainst Morecambe and the first and third goals were proof of that, but in a tight game do McCann’s men have the quality to score out of nothing? It will be fascinating to see who turns up to replace Szmodics and what sort of player he is.

5) It was hardly a surprise McCann went with a 3-4-1-2 formation from the start on Saturday. That system helped Posh deliver a thrilling second-half comeback the week before. The element of surprise had gone though and Morecambe made sure there was little space for wing-backs Joe Ward and Harrison Burrows to find in order to deliver dangerous crosses. The best cross of the match was sent in by Jack Taylor and Clarke-Harris was only denied a goal from it by a strong save. In two matches Posh have proved they will find a way to score no matter how the opposition set up and that is encouraging.

6) Goalkeepers are so important. Morecambe’s experienced number one was culpable for the opening Posh goal, but 10 minutes later Lucas Bergstrom made a terrific save at the other end. Change the goalkeepers around and Posh could have been 1-0 down after 17 minutes rather than 1-0 up.

7) What a bafflingly poor game from Championship referee Dean Whitestone who applied cautions illogically and inconsistently and made a right horlicks of the Posh penalty that never was in the second-half. Whitestone had been sent down a division after his horrific penalty call at Hull City the week before when a weekend off might have been a better call.