Trust in a calm Peterborough United manager, a skewiff defensive line, an uplifting moment and the team's 'Mr Indestructible'

Switching winger Kyrell Lisbie to the other side of the pitch after he’d spent the opening 30 minutes exposing the limitations of Exeter defender Pierce Sweeney was one yesterday, but then almost 40 years watching from the press box hardly delivers the same level of expertise and knowledge of a lifetime spent working inside the game, especially these days with the levels of data available to back-up what the eyes are telling you.

Posh could hardly be in better hands than those of manager Luke Williams who is fighting against the loss of several key players as well as gifted opponents, as Exeter City were in a madcap match at the Weston Homes Stadium on Saturday.

In recent games the posture during matches of Williams has come under scrutiny from fans desperate to find reasons for a poor result or two. I quite enjoy his calmness compared to the over-reactions others display, whether to referees, fourth officials or their own players. The boss rarely opts for the predictable public defence of blaming officials for defeat either, which makes his words far more powerful when he does grumble, which he’s had plenty of reason to do in recent matches.

The most important thing is whether or not those players believe in, and are playing for, the manager. Yesterday proved once again they most definitely are as they fought back from a nightmare position to claim a 3-3 draw, just the third points share of the season for Posh.

TALKING POINTS FROM POSH 3 EXETER 3...

1) With the benefit of hindsight, also known as TV highlights, the weakness of this current back four became obvious yesterday, once Exeter started to get their precise passing game going. The Posh defensive line was skewiff. Not all the defenders are on the same page when stepping up or dropping back, one of Tom Lees’ organisational jobs I would imagine. Doing both can be a recipe for disaster. Having three right-backs and no natural left-footer in the back four is not ideal, but Williams appears to have lost confidence in George Nevett for now. Peter Kioso should be praised for his commitment to an unusual position, but he arrived late on the scene for two of three Exeter goals yesterday and appeared to play hat-trick hero Jayden Wareham onside for the other one. Kioso would have been a huge attacking threat at right-back against this opposition, but needs must. It could be this back four does better against the more limited attacking style of Northampton next weekend, but it’s also possible Posh might need to keep scoring three goals to get something from a game.

2) Splendid fightback aside, the most uplifting Posh moment arrived early when 17 year-old full debutant Patryk Sykut scored a wonderful goal to fire his side in front. But Posh fans shouldn’t get carried away with the young Ukranian. His is a talent that needs nurturing rather than exposing to the hurly burly of League One football too soon too often. It’s far harder physically starting a game than playing 20 minutes or so at the end against tiring bodies. As it happens Sykut should have been taken off at half-time rather than as soon as Posh fell behind (as Williams tried to do at 2-1 which quickly became 3-1), but he can still be proud of his performance. The extra strength, speed and nous of Brandon Khela, as well as the direct running of Cian Hayes, changed the flow of this contest immediately. If fully fit by then, Khela will start at Cobblers.

3) As is his way, chairman Darragh MacAnthony blurted out on his podcast, one released the day before the game, that Khela and Donay O’Brien-Brady were injured. He also hinted a different player is battling against a hernia and made it sound like it was Harry Leonard. Ignore all the talk of play-offs, Posh must get to a place of safety as quickly as possible for the centre forward’s sake. If Posh lose Leonard on top of Tom Lees and Matt Garbett, wins really will be hard to come by.

4) Archie Collins, touch wood, is ‘Mr Indestructible.’ The team’s most consistent performer had to do even more work than normal given the make-up of yesterday’s Posh midfield, but he was still well in contention for man-of-the-match honours. Collins has started all 34 League One games this season. He is closing in on 360 career appearances and he’s only 26.

5) Glory be, Posh scored from a corner yesterday, one just swung into a dangerous area where the head of Harry Leonard was waiting. After the last-minute event at Barnsley in the previous game it was a surprise to see Cian Hayes take the corner, but he was on the money this time to spark his side’s dramatic recovery.

6) Posh ended the day further away from the play-offs and the relegation zone. Most teams play catch-up on Posh with their fixtures in March. Burton, Northampton and Rotherham are all in action on Tuesday and the gap to the bottom four will shrink from 11 points to nine if Cobblers beat bottom club Port Vale at Sixfields.