FERGIE: REF BOTTLED RED CARD
PRESTON match-winner Jermaine Beckford should have been sent off but the referee bottled the decision, according to Peterborough United boss Darren Ferguson.
Beckford scored his first goal for the club in first-half stoppage time after dinking the ball over Peterborough goalkeeper Ben Alnwick to maintain Preston’s seven-match unbeaten run.
The decision not to give Beckford his marching orders early in the second-half riled Ferguson even though he did not believe his challenge on Michael Bostwick was a bad one.
“The second one was not a foul but he’s given it so it’s a yellow card.The ref has bottled the decision there no question. Nine times out of ten you think it was probably another yellow,” said the Peterborough manager.
“We were really unlucky to lose the game.We started it really well but the goal was horrendous to lose.
“It’s something we’ve shown the players 12 times on video.You cannot lose goals like that. That’s the difference.
“We have to get out of the habit of losing games, but the last two games there have been a lot of positives.
“If we keep doing that we will start winning games.
“What frustrated me was the end product.There were a lot of rash decisions late in the game.”
Preston’s Paul Gallagher rattled the bar early on from the edge of the area, but Beckford gave his side the lead when he easily shrugged off the atten- tions of the Peterborough defence and dinked the ball over Alnwick.
Beckford had been booked a few minutes earlier for shoving over Kgosi Ntihe as he shielded the ball out.
Early in the second-half he was penalised for jumping in on Bostwick but escaped a second yellow card, much to the frustration of the home dug-out.
Posh, though, created little with Aaron McLean shooting wide of the near post as they lost their fourth straight home league game.
Preston boss Simon Grayson enjoyed his 100th game in charge of the club as he eyes a successful reunion with Beckford whom he managed at Leeds and Huddersfield.
“For that challenge [in the secondhalf] he has won the ball. I had a quick word with him on the half-way line and told him to be careful. He knows how to manage the game,” said Grayson.“He has that goal in his locker. He has done it for me over the years but he’s been struggling for confidence.
“But he’s always going to score goals. Hopefully this is the start of a run of goals.
“We controlled the game and had some good opportunities. I’m delighted to have a cleansheet and win the game. “The last ten minutes we had to dig deep, but we did what we had to do. We show great desire and spirit to keep cleansheets which is a fantastic testament to the defenders.”