TALKING POINTS: Fergie remains so sharp after 662 matches, it felt like a huge win, the comeback kings, Clarke-Harris class and a toxic atmosphere for officials

Peterborough United’s Darren Ferguson has now managed 662 competitive matches in his career and happily his mind remains sharp and his gambling instinct remains intact.
Sammie Szmodics of Peterborough United battles for the ball with Curtis Tilt of Wigan Athletic. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.Sammie Szmodics of Peterborough United battles for the ball with Curtis Tilt of Wigan Athletic. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.
Sammie Szmodics of Peterborough United battles for the ball with Curtis Tilt of Wigan Athletic. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.

It was quite the decision to remove bang in-form Sammie Szmodics from the fray yesterday and replace him with Mo Eisa with Posh a goal behind against a strong Wigan Athletic side. Szmodics has scored as many goals (4) in the last month as Eisa has managed in the last year.

But it proved a masterstroke from a manager celebrating the 100th match in charge of his third spell at Posh. Eisa’s key part in the equalising goal will be overshadowed by fellow substitute Harrison Burrows’ brilliant cross, but it shouldn’t be overlooked altogether.

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Ferguson sang the praises of his subs yesterday (Ethan Hamilton and Ricky-Jade Jones included) and their ability to change the flow of the game was the most welcome aspect of what was a largley disappointing performance, in terms of quality at least.

Joe Ward in action for Posh against Wigan. Photo: David Lowndes.Joe Ward in action for Posh against Wigan. Photo: David Lowndes.
Joe Ward in action for Posh against Wigan. Photo: David Lowndes.

Ferguson is understandably resisting any temptation to change a winning side, but he will have to by design or otherwise before too long, The more confidence the likes of Hamilton and Burrows can gather the better.

OTHER TALKING POINTS FROM YESTERDAY...

1) Ferguson is right to avoid labelling his side promotion favourites or likely title winners even though they are now ahead of his two-points-per game target. Table-topping Posh need to stay in the moment and not look too far ahead. Posh have a healthy advantage over others chasing an automatic promotion place, but six and nine point swings could easily happen with teams playing three times in eight days on a regular basis. Other results were decent for Posh again apart from Hull’s comfortable win at AFC Wimbledon, but as long as Fergie’s men keep winning it doesn’t matter what others do.

2) Yesterday felt like a big win. Wigan were big, strong, and attacked with a level of pace and skill which belied their lowly position, albeit without creating too many clearcut chances. Christy Pym was busier in this game than in any other for some considerable time, certainly in 2021. It was hard to argue against the Latics deserving the lead they collected 20 minutes from time. The last time Posh went top early in November they promptly lost four of the next five games so to hit back and win showed they can cope with the pressure of being frontrunners.

Jack Taylor in action for Posh against Wigan. Photo: David Lowndes.Jack Taylor in action for Posh against Wigan. Photo: David Lowndes.
Jack Taylor in action for Posh against Wigan. Photo: David Lowndes.
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3) It’s now seven games when Posh have come from behind to win League One matches this season. That 21 points from losing positions is the best in the division by some distance. Five of those comeback wins have arrived at the Weston Homes Stadium without the aid of a rocking London Road crowd, although it could be argued the lack of panicking fans is actually an advantage. It remains a concern how Posh rarely dominate the first half of games. If matches lasted 45 minutes Posh would be fifth in League One, 14 points behind leaders Hull. They are second in the second-half table, 10 points behind Lincoln.

4) Jonson Clarke-Harris has now scored in 18 different League One games. He has 21 third tier goals - three more than his nearest rival for the Golden Boot - and he’s netted in the last seven competitive matches. Whatever happens for the rest of the season he’s been another success story for the data and alaysis driven Posh recruitment team.

5) Fascinating, but not at all surprising, to see two different takes on referee Thomas Bramall’s performance. Posh boss Darren Ferguson reckons Bramall gave his side very little in the first-half, while Wigan’s interim boss Leam Richardson said he gave too much to Posh and even hinted at dubious methods employed by home players to win free kicks and even a match-winning penalty. TV pictures were inconclusive, but, from the press box at least, it looked like a foul on Siriki Dembele inside the penalty area. Sadly the atmosphere was again toxic towards the match officials from players and from technical areas. They are put under obscene amounts of pressure and it amazes me how they can even concentrate.

6) The London Road playing surface was heavily watered before the game, but the ball was still bobbling about more than it was at the start of the year. This helped Wigan’s ability to break up play and is a concern going forward for Posh.

They keep finding a way to win on it though. It’s now 38 points from 15 home matches, seven more than any other team has managed from fewer games in most instances.