FULL MARCS FOR MARVEL MADDI
RIVAL bosses Darren Ferguson and Gareth Ainsworth dished out the plaudits for star man Marcus Maddison.
The Posh talent created two goals and scored the other two in a triumph that left his side outside the play-off zone only on goal difference.
Maddison was the architect as Matt Godden returned to form with an early brace before a Ryan Tafazolli own goal handed Wycombe a lifeline.
A magnificent Maddison free-kick was then followed by another gifted goal for the visitors, as Wycombe captain Matt Bloomfield struck in his 500th career appearance. But Posh settled the issue midway through the second half when Maddison provided a fine finish to a slick breakaway.
Ferguson said: “Two assists, two goals – that’s the quality Marcus has got.
“He was unplayable at times and, if we can get him performing at that level consistently, we will have a real player. He has not had a promotion yet, but we want to get him to the Championship.
“I’m delighted to see Matt back scoring goals as well. He was low on confidence when I arrived, but he has a smile back on his face now.
“We were outstanding for the first 15 minutes and that’s how I want to see us playing, on the front foot. We caused Wycombe all sorts of problems when we were able to pass the ball.”
Wycombe boss Ainsworth said: “We were horrendous for the opening 10 minutes and that’s the story of the game. We more than matched a team sitting in seventh place for 80 minutes but you can’t expect to get anything when starting as poorly as we did.
“We have to be more solid against teams blessed with players of the quality of someone like Maddison. He’s been tipped to go right to the top and you can see why. Peterborough have a real diamond there, but we gave him too much space.
“We did have a plan to deal with him, but it obviously didn’t work as we made too many defensive errors.”
Godden’s first came with a finish from the edge of the six-yard box and was followed by another cool finish three minutes later, but Wycombe were handed a lifeline when Posh defender Ryan Tafazolli headed a Jason McCarthy cross into his own net. Maddison restored the two-goal cushion with a glorious 25-yard freekick, only for Bloomfield to pounce after keeper Conor O’Malley fumbled a Nick Freeman cross. But Posh claimed a highclass clincher in the second period as Maddison rifled in a fine finish after a slick breakaway involving Lee Tomlin and Godden. Godden was then denied a hat-trick by a raised flag. PETERBOROUGH UNITED: O’Malley 7, Naismith 7, White 7, Tafazolli 7, Lafferty 7, Woodyard 7, Ward 7, Cooke 7 (Reed 80, 6), Maddison 9, Godden 8, Tomlin 8 (Cooper 85, 6). Subs not used: Chapman, Bennett, Denton, Stevens, Dempsey. WYCOMBE WANDERERS: Allsop 6, McCarthy 6, Jombati 6, Stewart 6, Jacobson 6, Gape 6, Thompson 7, Freeman 6, Bloomfield 7 (Tyson 80, 6), Samuel 6 (Bolton 86, 6), Akinfenwa 6. Subs not used: Bean, Kashket, Cowan-Hall, Harriman, Makabu-Makalamby.