FERGUSON’S FURY AT RED CARD WOES
POSH boss Darren Ferguson was left cursing the club’s catalogue of red cards as their play-off dream was dented again.
Ivan Toney became their fourth player to be sent off in the first half of a game this year when given his marching orders in the 27th minute for deliberately handling an Omar Beckles shot on goal.
It changed a game that ended with Shrewsbury celebrating their rise out of the relegation zone.
Posh led through Jason Naismith’s first goal for the club after 10 minutes, but following Toney’s exit, Ollie Norburn levelled with the resulting penalty before Tyrese Campbell’s smart strike put the Shrews ahead.
Ferguson said: “I’ve never known anything like this before. That’s three times in five games since I’ve been back here that we’ve played more than a half with 10 men.
“All three of the sending offs have been avoidable and we’ve ended up losing all three games which I don’t think would have happened otherwise.
“I don’t think Ivan needed to handle the ball and the damage was done as we then lost all composure until halftime. Panic seemed to set in when all we had to do was keep our shape.
“It was a massive chance for us to build momentum and we wasted it after being ahead and in genuine control.
Naismith had given Posh the lead after meeting a Marcus Maddison’s free-kick from the right.
Shrews skipper Norburn tucked away his 27th-minute penalty and the visitors completed a quick turnaround in the 36th minute as Campbell struck with a terrific 20-yard finish from Shaun Whalley’s short free-kick.
Shrewsbury’s task became harder when Norburn was dismissed in the 62nd minute after collecting a second caution in quick succession, but they were also closest to another goal as former Posh midfielder Anthony Grant hit a post.
Shrewsbury boss Sam Ricketts said: “We’re now unbeaten in three games and building momentum.
“We believe we’re capable of winning any game and we showed it here.
“It would have been good to get the third goal and be able to relax a bit more, but we saw the determination and character of the players come to the fore to see it out. “Peterborough have a player in Marcus Maddison who possesses Premier League standard delivery in his set-pieces, but it was still bitterly disappointing to concede in that way. “It was excellent to see us make the numerical advantage count so quickly. I can’t really argue about Ollie’s sending off although it did age me about five years.”