The big plus from Grant McCann's Peterborough United management and three things that need to improve for Posh to sustain their promotion challenge

McCann was the man who fought to bring Ephron Mason-Clark to the Weston Homes Stadium (Darragh MacAnthony confessed in a ‘Hard Truth’ podcast he wasn’t so keen on a forward playing for Barnet at the time) and how grateful his successor Darren Ferguson, as well as his chairman, should be for that.

Mason-Clark thanked McCann for his opportunity in the Football League by helping to knock his Doncaster Rovers side out of the FA Cup on Saturday with a typically brilliant strike early in the second-half. It gave Posh a crucial two-goal lead which they needed as the League Two strugglers set up a nervy final 25 minutes or so by pulling a goal back.

Mason-Clark is an outstanding talent. He's powerful, quick and his shooting when cutting inside on to his right foot is ferocious and often deadly accurate. Saturday’s goal was his 10th of the season and eight have arrived in his last 11 games as a slow start to the season, when he appeared to find the club captaincy, a burden is forgotten.

TALKING POINTS FROM POSH 2, DONCASTER 1...

1) It looked like a tough week caught up with Posh towards the end of this second round FA Cup tie. They looked leggy and passed poorly under pressure at times. It’s likely a hard game physically and mentally at Stevenage four days earlier took a lot out of a starting XI which played the entire 100 or so minutes of that game and took to the field again against Doncaster. The Posh way of playing looks tiring anyway. They are explosive and all of them cover hard yards as they attempt to run the legs off opponents. It would be a surprise if more than a couple of them start the Bristol Street Motors Trophy match against Arsenal Under 21s on Tuesday. The big League One game against third-placed Oxford United at London Road the following Saturday is a far bigger priority and a fresh, fired up XI will be needed for that game.

2) Posh boss Darren Ferguson felt his side lacked their usual verve yesterday and yet they could still have scored six rather than two. They missed three one-on-ones and failed to convert from two yards out on a couple of occasions with Ricky-Jade Jones spurning four presentable chances on his own. Jones was good in general play, but he needs to step up in front of goal as it's unlikely wingers Mason-Clark and Kwame Poku, or number 10 Joel Randall, will keep up their current scoring pace.

3) Nicholas Bilokapic played a big part in the Posh win yesterday. He made three excellent saves...and yet he still looked vulnerable at times. He dropped a couple of crosses under pressure. Three things need to improve for Posh going forward into the new year. The consistency of Bilokapic and Jones, plus the defensive work of Harrison Burrows who looked like a midfielder playing out of position at left-back in the first-half yesterday when tricky winger Luke Molyneux went past him with ease on the outside and on the inside. Burrows also found it difficult defensively in the second-half against Burton Albion the following weekend. One wonders if Posh would go back for Swansea left-back Nathanael Ogbeta in January, fitness permitting of course?

4) League Two looks a tough division this season, but how Doncaster are currently 17th based on yesterday’s evidence is a mystery. They were aggressive, passed the ball pretty well and had a bang-in form Posh side hanging on towards the end. They survived some scary moments defensively which was probably inevitable given a standard of opposition they won’t meet again in the rest of the season. Doncaster look like a side capable of a surge up the table. With Posh playing legends McCann and Tommy Rowe – a second-half substitute yesterday – at the club that’s something we should all get behind.

5) Posh fans probably knew not to put any faith in Cobblers. It’s a miracle they won three games in a row so they were unlucky to do their neighbours any favours by beating League One promotion candidates Portsmouth at Sixfields. The 3-0 Pompey win moved them three points clear at the top and seven points in front of Posh from the same number of games played. It’s a big set of fixtures next up in League One with Pompey at home to second placed Bolton Wanderers on Monday, December 11, two days after fifth-placed Posh entertain third-placed Oxford United.