The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Godden’s goal
Peterborough United manager Darren Ferguson believes regular clean sheets could lead to a place in the League One play-offs.
Posh beat Gillingham 2-0 at the ABAX Stadium last weekend to record back-to-back clean sheets for the first time this season.
Successive wins for the first time since the end of October kept Posh in seventh place ahead of two tough trips to Blackpool (Saturday) and Fleetwood (Good Friday).
A Marcus Maddison penalty - his 5oth goal for the club - and substitute Matt Godden supplied the goals.
Posh have kept just nine League One clean sheets all season - only five teams have kept fewer - but Ferguson has been impressed with his side’s defensive work in the last two matches, even though he had to change his centre-back partnership last weekend after Ben White picked up an injury.
“We’ve done well defensively in the last two games,” Ferguson stated. “And it’s key for us to keep clean sheets because if we do we will more than likely win given the attacking players at the club.
“In Siriki Dembele and Marcus Maddison we have two of the most talented wingers in League One.
“But centre-backs Ryan Tafazolli and Rhys Bennett were our best players against Gillingham. They were up against a 20-goal striker and a team who troubled Luton in a recent away game, but they didn’t get close to our goal.
“And that was important because we didn’t play that well, especially in the firsthalf.
“We picked up the tempo after the break and once we scored the first goal we were comfortable. I would imagine the games coming up will be even harder for the back four, but they will take confidence into the matches.
“We’ve played risk free football at the back in the last couple of matches and it’s worked out well for us. We’ve been pleasingly solid.”
Ferguson accepts Posh will probably need to play better in the six remaining matches - four are away from home - to have any chance of reeling in sixth-placed Doncaster.
Grant McCann’s side also have a superior goal difference.
But he will take scrappy performances as long as the result is positive.
“It wasn’t the most enjoyable game against Gillingham,” Ferguson added.
“But winning is all that matters at this stage of the season, We have to keep putting as much pressure on Doncaster as we can so we can’t do any more than keep winning. Every match, every week has something on it for both teams in this division last season and Funny things can always happen.
“Teams don’t always react well to pressure, but we have to win our games and worry about everyone else afterwards. The players are all working hard and we have some strength in depth now all the players are fit. The substitutions we did against Gillingham all worked out worked out well for us. We will need everyone on form for the runin.”
Doncaster host struggling Plymouth on Saturday when they could be without injured top scorer John Marquis.
Blackpool would catch Posh on points if they beat them on Saturday.
Other play-off hopefuls Fleetwood and Burton have away games at Barnsley and Scunthorpe. League One clean sheets:
20 Barnsley, 19 Luton, 16 Blackpool, 15 Fleetwood, Charlton, 14 Bristol Rovers, 12 Burton, Oxfor d, Shrewsbury, Sunderland, 11 Bradford, Portsmouth, Southend, 10 Coventry, Doncaster, Gillingham, AFC Wimbledon, 9 POSH, Rochdale, 8 Wycombe, 7 Walsal, 6 Accrington, Plymouth, Scunthorpe.
Two clean sheets in a row for Posh goalkeeper Aaron Chapman.
Joe Ward missed the Gillingham match for personal reasons.
Darren Ferguson: “Our games are going to get a lot tougher now.”