Why Peterborough United should score plenty of late goals, Fergie is now spoilt for choice up front and a need to deal with opposition set pieces better

Four wins in row, completed by a late, late show which sealed a 3-1 success at Burton Albion on Saturday, has lifted Posh to within four points of the automatic promotion places.

Presuming international call-ups will cause the postponement of a March trip to Cheltenham the next three Posh matches are at the Weston Homes Stadium, although the two coming up are fraught with danger.

You can bet your life Stevenage will be fired up and ready to cause an upset under former Posh boss Steve Evans in front of the Sky TV cameras on Wednesday and then it’s long-time leaders Portsmouth next Saturday – a team who have lost just four of 37 League One games all season.

But six points shouldn’t be beyond Darren Ferguson’s side who look to have all parts in excellent working order again. If that happens they could well have a top two spot in their own hands as second-placed Derby host third-placed Bolton Wanderers next Saturday.

There will be eight games to go for Posh after the Pompey game, including three at home against the current bottom three.

TALKING POINTS FROM BURTON 1, POSH 3…

1) Apart from home local derbies the cliche regarding no easy games in League One is accurate. Burton are a poor team who hadn’t scored in their previous three games and yet they had a simple yet effective game-plan which came within 10 minutes or so of delivering a point. A team of physically strong players sat deep, 10 of them usually, and relied on a terrible playing surface to slow Posh down while hoping to carve out a chance from a set-piece. It was crude, but finding holes in a massed defence proved difficult for Posh until the final stages. And the fact the winning goals came late should not have come as a shock. Possession-based teams wear opponents down. It’s much more tiring playing without the ball than with it. It’s partly why top Premier League sides regularly score late goals. Their opponents are often knackered. Posh had 75% possession according to the BBC yesterday. These things matter even if keeping the ball with no end product for large periods can be frustrating, even for Ferguson judging by his constant cries of ‘quicker’ and 'forward’ in the first-half at Burton.

2) Okay about that lack of squad depth then? It’s certainly true Posh wouldn’t want an injury (or a suspension, Hector Kyprianou has one more game to survive without a caution to avoid a ban) to a centre-back or a central midfielder, but their options up front are rather frightening. The combination play between substitute strikers Jonson Clarke-Harris and Malik Mothersille for the final goal was outstanding. Clarke-Harris is a useful man to have around when opponents are camped in their own area and not budging. He’s a target for an accurate cross as he proved to match-winning effect yesterday with a fine headed knockdown for Josh Knight’s crucial goal. Add the possibility of bringing a right-winger in David Ajiboye or Michael Olakigbe on and shifting Kwame Poku to the number 10 role and it’s clear Ferguson is spoilt for choice up top.

3) Ronnie Edwards delivered the cross for the second goal to cap an outstanding personal display. His central defensive partner Josh Knight won most plaudits after scoring his fifth League One goal of the season – just one fewer than Joel Randall – but Edwards was the best player on the pitch.

4) Clarke-Harris would have been proud of the header Ricky-Jade Jones produced to open the scoring at Burton. Jones is a tall man who’s far from brilliant in the air, but he produced an instinctive finish with his back to goal to convert a fine cross from Harrison Burrows. Scoring is the best way to answer his social media critics. Jones was also close to claiming a couple of assists in a strong second-half showing.

5) It’s now 10 away wins in League One this season for Posh. They won 11 matches on the road in their last promotion season from this division. Posh have now picked up the same number of points away from home as they have at home – 34. They’ve played two more matches away though.

6) The last two goals conceded by Posh have been from close range following set pieces. Posh are not a big side and it’s an area in which they will tested by Stevenage and Portsmouth. Could goalkeeper Jed Steer do more to help his out-matched (height-wise) defenders? It certainly looked as though he might have left his line to try and deal with the long throw that led to the Burton goal yesterday. Burton also hit a post with a header from a free kick, although that was from much further out.