MATCH REPORT: City pinch the points from the Magpies

City of Peterborough claimed victory in a tense, seven-goal thriller in the East Premier A Division at Harleston Magpies on Saturday (October 1).
City of Peterborough skipper Ross Booth (right) in action at Harleston Magpies.City of Peterborough skipper Ross Booth (right) in action at Harleston Magpies.
City of Peterborough skipper Ross Booth (right) in action at Harleston Magpies.

City led 4-1 going into the final 10 minutes, but lost two men to the sin bin and ended up hanging on under intense pressure to secure an excellent three points against a team that don’t lose too often at home.

City started the game the better, but fell behind to a deflected effort from a crash ball into the ‘D’.

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But within minutes Joe Finding equalised with a superb top corner effort from a short corner and the scorer followed that up with a terrific aerial pass into the ‘D’ that was well controlled by Danny Sisson and finished by Manish Patel.

City of Peterborough goalkeeper Cameron Goodey and his defence during a 4-3 win at Harleston.City of Peterborough goalkeeper Cameron Goodey and his defence during a 4-3 win at Harleston.
City of Peterborough goalkeeper Cameron Goodey and his defence during a 4-3 win at Harleston.

That was the signal for Harleston to apply huge pressure which included a run of eight consecutive short corners at the very end of the first half. A combination of fine goalkeeping from Cameron Goodey and great defence in front of him kept the ball out of the net.

Harleston kept up the pressure at the start of the second-half, but the strong defending helped City’s confidence throughout the team and they started to impose themselves on the game. Ben Read looked particularly sharp in midfield.

Skipper Ross Booth was fouled in the D and Finding cooly despatched the penalty flick and the captain then dribbled round the back of the home defence before pulling the ball back for Ross Ambler to convert.

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This triggered a frantic finale with the home captain and Finding sent to the sin bin before Harleston pulled a goal back with a cracking striker. City then went down to nine men when Sam Blunt was despatched to the sin bin.

Ross Ambler of City of Peterborough takes evasive action during the win at Harleston.Ross Ambler of City of Peterborough takes evasive action during the win at Harleston.
Ross Ambler of City of Peterborough takes evasive action during the win at Harleston.

Harleston pulled one goal back from a short corner follow-up, but they couldn’t find the equalising goal despite two minutes of non-stop pressure leading up to the final whistle.

Youngster Patel earned the team’s man-of-the-match prize for his great running and tackling.

Despite winning two of their first three matches City are in the bottom half of the table ahead of their trip to bottom club Chelmsford.