TALKING POINTS: No more false dawns Posh finally need to go on a run, the Clarke-Harris conundrum, the diamond dazzles and a referee who failed in his duty of care

Peterborough United played brilliantly in their win against Millwall yesterday (Decemner 11) but it is time for that to finally inspire Darren Ferguson’s men to put together a run of form.
Clarke-Harris and Burrows celebrate the winning goal against Millwall. Photo: Joe Dent.Clarke-Harris and Burrows celebrate the winning goal against Millwall. Photo: Joe Dent.
Clarke-Harris and Burrows celebrate the winning goal against Millwall. Photo: Joe Dent.

The cold hard reality is that even though Posh dominated the ball, stood up well to Millwall’s unapologetic dirty tactics and showed the strength of character to not go under when they undeservedly fell behind, they are still two points adrift of safety. Even that is of a side (Reading) that are only down in 21st because of a six-point deduction.

Of course, 22 games into a season, two points is nothing, but this result is useless in isolation if Posh go to a Blackpool side who have not won in seven and produce their usual away dross next weekend and then fail to beat Reading themselves the following week.

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Darren Ferguson has promised for weeks now that his side are ready to go on a run if they get a break and yesterday it happened. Posh huffed and puffed in front of Millwall’s goal and were finally gifted the breakthrough courtesy of Dan McNamara’s own goal (thank goodness he did not get sent off!). To their credit, they immediately seized the initiative and found a second just four minutes later.

That needs to be the turning point which allows the squad to cast off the naivety and start to believe that they are good enough to stay in the league- whether the fans believe they are or not is irrelevant, the players have to believe they are.

Runs can be put together in this league. Hull looked doomed six matches ago, they had not long come off their own run of six matches without scoring but all of a sudden (with a lot of refereeing assistance you have to say) they have won four and drawn two of the last six and Grant McCann has gone from the brink of the sack to a Manager of the Month candidate.

If that ugly, negative Millwall side can get themselves to four points off the play-off spots, then Posh need to realise there can be a future for them at this level and it’s time to start putting some consistent results together to prove that.

TALKING POINTS FROM YESTERDAY.

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1) You have to credit Ferguson. The diamond definitely provided an improved away performance against Forest and it led to a much-needed home win yesterday. He has gone back to it even though he would have presumably been able to hear the eyes of the 1,987 travelling fans roll in unison when they saw the formation last week. It is a polarising one but, Ferguson knows it well and has assessed the players in his squad and has rightly seen that he has the players to make it work. It is rare for a struggling side to play with the confidence and fluidity that Posh did yesterday and it brought about the best performances of the season for a number of the side’s players.

2) Jonson Clarke-Harris is a real conundrum for Posh. The fact that a club who had not scored in their previous five matches chose to start without a striker looked a damning indictment of his ability at 2pm. Yet, by the time 5pm came around, he was the hero again after playing a large part in the first ending up in the net and scoring the second himself. Would he have been able to make those bursting runs had been playing the previous 64 minutes? I would suggest not. Let’s not also forget he scored Posh’s last goal before today after coming off the bench against Huddersfield. Does Szmodics offer enough to start though? One to ponder.

3) Siriki Dembele needs protection. It was yet another game many Posh fans must have winced their way through. Dembele is pure class and essential to any Posh success this season and other sides clearly know that. Millwall were not the first and certainly won’t be the last to decide the way to beat Posh is to kick Dembele off the park, akin to the tactics once employed against Pele in the 1966 World Cup. Yet, if referees continue to turn a blind eye, it will continue to happen.

4) Ferguson referenced having seen referee Leigh Doughty before and registered his disgust at some of his decisions and he is absolutely right. The referee did a terrible job of stamping (excuse the irony) his authority on the game. Millwall set out from minute one to disrupt, kick and bully Posh’s players. Almost every time they entered the final third, they were cynically hauled down. The precedent was set in the sixth minute when McNamara got away with a horror challenge and that only gave them more encouragement. Even with the referee’s lax attitude to fouls, Rowett’s over-physical side still picked up five yellow cards and they can count themselves lucky that was as bad as it got.

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5) I wish Dan Butler the absolute best with his recovery. He left the ground on crutches but even if he did make a miraculous recovery for Saturday, there is not likely to be a place for him. Joe Tomlinson was absolutely sensational on his return from the wilderness. There will be tougher defensive tests to come but finally having a player that can whip in a good dead ball completely revitalised Posh as an attacking force. While no balls in led to a goal yesterday, they certainly will in future if he keeps delivering them with the consistent quality he did yesterday. What a shame a mis-control from Jack Taylor denied him an assist in the second half.

6) While the overall showing will certainly go in the mix for the best performance of the season tag, in terms of Josh Knight, Jorge Grant and Jack Taylor, it is undoubtedly their best showing. Knight is really building a relationship with Ronnie Edwards and produced a game-saving block from Sheyi Ojo in the closing stages to cap off a fine performance. Not to mention, it was his cross that Nathan Thompson flicked to Clarke-Harris for the winning goal. Jorge Grant was majestic when given more freedom and frequently looked to pass incisively through the lines. Taylor too has benefitted from the diamond switch sent over the superb ball to set up the first goal. A start of something great for those three I hope.