POSH PAIR ARE NEW ‘M’ HEROES
ASK any Peterborough fan and they’ll tell you: if you’re in a Posh strike partnership, you could do worse than emulating Aaron McLean and Craig Mackail-Smith.
That’s exactly what ABAX Stadium new boy Jack Marriott claims he and Junior Morias are trying to do and, with the start they’ve made, you wouldn’t bet against them.
Posh’s newest ‘M’ duo may not have as catchy a nickname as the legendary ‘Mac Attack’. They’ve still got a long way to go before matching the duo’s 189 goals for the club, but the early signs are promising for the talented 22-yearolds.
Marriott – signed for an undisclosed fee from League Two Luton in June – caught the eye with a clinical hat-trick in the 4-1 pummelling of Bristol Rovers last weekend, the second of which was assisted by Morias.
For his part, the Jamaicanborn forward – plucked from Non-League St Albans City back in January – built on his four goals in the second half of last season with a strike in the opening-day victory over Plymouth. It was set up by, you guessed it, Marriott.
It’s that innate understanding the pair have developed in just three games together that will have Posh fans reminiscing about the glory years of McLean and Mackail-Smith from 2007-2011 and Marriott is certainly relishing the connection.
“Me and Junior are working really well together. It’s really good playing alongside him,” he explained.
“We’ve got a good connection already and we always want to set each other up.
“He assisted me on Saturday, I assisted him against Plymouth. We’ve got that desire to do well for each other.
“We know all about Craig (Mackail-Smith) and Aaron (McLean), and if we’re to get anywhere near them, and what they achieved, that would be incredible.
“They are a benchmark we want to get to and they are perfect role models and aspirations for us to get to.
“Myself and Junior are con“It’s stantly talking on the pitch and constantly communicating.
“We know the runs each other are going to make and we’re offering different things at different times.
“We can both do the same things, but it’s about combining them at different moments.
“If he goes short, I go long. It’s simple things like that, but it’s working.
“The fact we know where each other is going to run so early in the season is a great thing.”
Tipped for promotion last term, Peterborough stuttered into mid-table obscurity, ending the campaign in 11th place, a full 11 points outside the playoffs.
Threaten
Many players clam up when asked what their club is hoping to achieve, but not Marriott.
The hotshot isn’t shy about publicising Posh’s main goal this term.
“One hundred per cent, we want to be promoted. That’s the over-riding aim,” he says simply.
“We’ve got a good squad and we can definitely threaten.
“That’s our number one aim. Yes, we want to do well in the cups and we’ve got lots of targets, but we’re well aware of what we want to do and what we need to do to get promoted.”
A hat-trick in early August certainly suggests Marriott hasn’t found moving up a division too much of a challenge.
And the striker agrees he is right at home in the third tier.
definitely a step-up in quality being in League One but I’m enjoying the football we’re playing,” he added.
“I’m getting on well with everyone and I feel it suits me a little bit more than maybe League Two did.
“You get that bit more quality and you get the ball in areas that you’re making runs into.
“Maybe you do get a little bit more space because, with that quality, comes a bit more movement. It’s a lot more fluid I feel.”