Peterborough United’s 4-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday in the Sky Bet League One play-off semi-final first leg sent a statement out to the fellow play-off participants.
Four goals from Jack Taylor, Joe Ward, Kwame Poku and Jonson Clarke-Harris saw a memorable night ensue in Cambridgeshire, but what did we learn from their win?
Posh’s Potent Attack Strikes Once Again
One key aspect of Peterborough’s victory was their attacking prowess. Clarke-Harris featured down the middle, Ephron Mason-Clark was on the left and Poku lined-up on the right, the latter two were causing the Wednesday defence problems throughout the game with their pace and directness in particular.
Mason-Clark arrived in the summer from Barnet after making 174 appearances at the Hive. Poku meanwhile joined from Colchester United and has shone, even representing the Ghanaian national team in 2021.
They came from the Vanarama National League and League Two respectively, highlighting Peterborough’s astute recruitment policy. Poku has added end product to his game this season, netting four and assisting 11 in League One whilst Mason-Clark has accumulated 17 goal contributions.
Then there is Clarke-Harris, who has picked up his second League One golden boot with 26 goals this season. The Wembley arch is on the horizon for Posh, and their vibrant wingers could guide them back to the second tier.
Moore Needed From The Owls In Second Leg To Complete Extraordinary Comeback
This result came as a huge shock to everybody watching. The Owls finished 19 points ahead of their counterparts but this emphasises why many enjoy the excitement of the play-offs.
They had a massive chance to open the scoring in the opening minutes but Michael Smith couldn’t dispatch his effort past Will Norris. That goal could have been a decisive one and may have seen the game take a completely different trajectory.
It certainly was an off-day for Wednesday, who had a magnificent season by finishing on 96 points. This number of points is the most in the third tier ever recorded without earning promotion, but were only out-trumped by the brilliance of Plymouth Argyle and Ipswich Town.
Stranger things have happened in football before. Darren Moore’s side will certainly need an early goal in Thursday’s second-leg to give them a chance of reaching the final, but they will have an uphill battle from the very start.
Wednesday’s Season Looked So Promising, But Is Now Hanging By A Thread
For large parts of the season, Wednesday were in the driving seat for automatic promotion to the Championship.
They came into the game following four consecutive wins, with the latest coming on the final day to prevent Derby County from reaching the play-offs. Before those wins, they had only secured one win in seven which included disappointing defeats to Forest Green Rovers and Burton Albion.
This meant that Plymouth and Ipswich were back in the ascendancy, despite it then being in the Owls’ hands.
One hope for Wednesday fans is that they have scored four goals at home on four different occasions this season. However, it remains to be seen if they could do it against a team of the calibre of Peterborough.
