The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
The obituary was ripped up after a ‘Super Sunday’
Posh remain on life support despite their ‘Super Sunday’ in London, but not all hope is lost.
The obituaries looked certain to be penned after the short of shaky first-half performance that has blighted this season, but the players hung on, equalised against the run of play just before the break and then delivered a most impressive 45 minutes to run out comfortable winners.
It helps that Posh have suddenly rediscovered their scoring form. Following a recent run of one goal in eight competitive matches, Posh have scored seven times in their past three outings as Jonson Clarke-Harris and Jack Marriott have teamed up as effectively as previous manager Darren Ferguson had hoped when signing the latter in the summer.
Marriott’s brilliant individual goal 10 minutes into the second-half settled matters, coming as it did just two minutes after Clarke-Harris had fired Posh in front from
the penalty spot following a foul on lively Joe Ward.
QPR’s ninth-minute goal from Luke Amos after Jack Taylor had lost possession had been cancelled out five minutes before half-time by Clarke-Harris drilling home after 37 yearold stand-in ‘keeper Kieren Westwood had parried Marriott’s shot into his path.
To be frank, QPR could have been out of sight before that pivotal moment, not because they played particularly well, but because Posh just kept turning over possession in danegrous areas.
Taylor repeated his error just nine minutes later, but Andre Gray’s attempted finish was woeful. Gray then headed onto a post soon af
ter Ilias Chair had fired wide from a promising position.
Chair then struck the outside of a post direct from a corner immediately after Posh had levelled. But after the break Posh were a different beast, defending their lead so well, goalkeeper Dai Cornell was not forced into a single second-half save.
Indeed Posh looked just as likely to score further goals as Sammie Szmodics, who hit the top of the crossbar with a 20-yard half volley, and substitutes Kwame Poku and Jeando Fuchs pressed opponents relentlessy.
Szmodics was clean through in added time, but shot when he could have given Joe Taylor a tap-in first Posh goal. Westwood saved it.
Posh have rediscovered their scoring form.