Peterborough United gave their automatic promotion hopes a timely boost by beating Stevenage 3-1 this evening.
Harrison Burrows opened the scoring after Luther James-Wildin fouled Ephron Mason-Clark in the area, before Jadel Katongo netted his first league goal with a fine effort. Kwame Poku sealed the points, despite Nick Freeman’s consolation five minutes from time.
The hosts were far from their best tonight, but individual brilliance saw them take the points under the floodlights. There were a couple of dubious refereeing decisions though. Carl Piergianni was fortunate that his elbow in the early stages wasn’t spotted by the officials, while Josh Knight will be relieved that the referee missed his handball in the area that could’ve seen a penalty given at the other end.
Stevenage were by no means poor either, they had the better of the first half, with chances from distance. Jed Steer made several saves to keep his side in it, as the visitors made a contest of it until the end of injury time. That is though a third game without a victory, with their grasp on sixth spot looking a lot looser after the midweek results.
There was a dampener on the evening for the Cambridgeshire outfit, as Hector Kyprianou picked up a tenth yellow card of the campaign. That rules him out of Saturday’s showdown with Portsmouth, and next weekend’s encounter at Cheltenham Town.
Here’s a look at three things we learnt from the game, and in terms of the wider picture for League One…
Posh’s Scoring Makes Them An Outsider For The Top Two
Burrow’s penalty on the stroke of half-time saw Darren Ferguson’s side hit the milestone of 100 goals for the season across all competitions. They join Bolton Wanderers as the only two third-tier sides to achieve that feat, surpassing the Trotters’ goal tally in the process to become the outright top scorers in League One.
Malik Mothersille helped take the game away from the Hertfordshire side, coming off the bench to grab two assists. One of those was to Poku, who scored his eleventh of the season, and third in five games since returning from injury. They currently have four players who are in double figures for goals across all competitions.
Stevenage Looking Nervously Over Their Shoulder
Steve Evans last night made the claim that “we’re the team that no one wants in the playoffs” on Sky Sports, but as he watched on from the stands this evening he will have been wondering if his side will even make it. They have only taken nine points from their last nine games, seeing the gap close between them and the chasing pack.
Blackpool have lost just one of their last six, and Lincoln City are unbeaten in twelve, with seven wins from nine in that period. Evans’s side have lost key personnel at a crucial time, and face a real fight on their hands as they look to secure a remarkable second promotion in a row.
Season-Defining Weekend Ahead in League One
Both sides have games that will go a long way to deciding their season at the weekend. Posh’s week doesn’t get much easier, as they welcome league leaders Portsmouth to London Road. Events at Pride Park though will catch their eye, with Derby County hosting Bolton Wanderers, meaning at least one of their promotion rivals are guaranteed to drop points.
Stevenage meanwhile host Leyton Orient, with the O’s needing a win to keep their faint hopes of a top-six finish alive. Boro’ know that anything other than three points may see them drop out of the Play-Off places on Saturday afternoon. They do have the slight comfort of a game in hand though.
