The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Manager’s masterplan led to Trophy triumph
Posh started planning for an EFL Trophy Cup Final success back in August.
It wasn’t the club’s number one priority as that will always be promotion, but it was most definitely a target for manager Darren Ferguson who went on to mastermind a brilliant campaign.
"Everyone wants to play at Wembley,” Ferguson insisted. “And clubs at our level have just two realistic chances to get there, in the EFL Trophy or a play-off final.
"I had that at the back of my mind when the season started and thankfully things really went our way.
"We won our first two group matches by giving game-time to players who really needed it alongside firstteam regulars which meant we qualified for the knockout stages and I could play some really young players in the third game.
"We topped our group which meant a home tie and then you just hope the draw is kind and it was until the semifinal at Blackpool.
"That was a big night for us as we’d lost our four previous games, including one to Blackpool, and the way the boys performed in that game told me a lot about them.
"We played so well and with so much confidence it gave us even more belief we could enjoy a very successful season.”
WEMBLEY BUILD-UP
“It was a long gap between the semi-final and final so we could put Wembley out of our minds for a bit,” Ferguson said. “And we went on a winning run which got us back into the race for automatic promotion.
"We then suffered a bad defeat at home on Good Friday and it was important we won the next game, the one before Wembley, and we did. That was important and the players were quite relaxed in the run up to the final.
"I was confident they would thrive on the big occasion.”
TACTICAL TWEAKS
“I wasn’t happy with the first 20 minutes of the final,”
Ferguson admitted. “So I had to tweak something to the way we were building from the back.
"They went up right up against us and we couldn’t get any rhythm to our game. I adjusted Hector Kyprianou’s position and put him higher. That gave them more problems.
“When you play like we do, you are going to make mistakes and we did, but overall, I was very pleased with the last hour.
“In the second half, we played well. We were the better team, but we just couldn’t find that goal until late on, and then we had to go and find another goal, and we did that as well.
“At 0-0 in a cup final, you just have to hold your nerve as games change so quickly and we did exactly that.”
CREDIT WORTHY
“My coaching staff have been amazing. It’s been a great experience for them and it’s days like this you never forget.
“The supporters were also amazing. What a turnout. They loved it and they pushed us on and on.
"I’m delighted for them because it’s been a decade since we were last here. We might not get here for another decade so when you get the opportunity, you’ve got to make the most of it. It’s really satisfying to make people happy.”