PETERBOROUGH UNITED 1 LEICESTER CITY 0
Report by Paul Weston
A trip to the Peterborough ground is a throwback to yesteryear. This time fans entered the ground through a building site but inside the ground nothing had changed. The toilets and refreshments would be an embarrassment even in the Blue Square league
Before the game I had predicted a 3-3 draw. In the end it should have been about 7-3 to City who somehow contrived to lose against without doubt the worst defence and goalkeeper in the Championship.
I lost count of the amount of chances we had even when not playing well. The statistics show that we had 23 shots, 11 of which were on target! It was utterly frustrating for the vociferous City fans which had travelled to the match.
Pearson started the game with the same side as against Forest with Wellens and King on the bench and Bamba in a holding role. This somewhat negative set up surprised me considering we had to win to give us a chance of the play offs. Pearson also persisted with playing Nugent out wide which seems a huge sacrifice of a good goal scorer.
Posh started well and City struggled to pass and control the ball on quite a bobbly pitch. City looked tentative and did not look like a team determined to win three points or believing it could get into the play offs. Pearson was very animated on the sidelines trying to energise the team.
The first half was fairly even. Morgan and St Ledger (my man of the match) looked strong at the back. Schmeichel saved a good free kick and City had a good claim for a penalty for handball by McCann. Marshall went close with a long shot. City had lots of corners and Bamba and Morgan went close. So the half ended 0-0 with City edging it on chances without playing at all well.
A key moment in the match at the beginning of the second half was when St Ledger missed a simple header from a straightforward cross when unmarked.
As City started to press forward Posh broke forward quickly and looked dangerous. Alarming gaps appeared through the centre of City’s midfield.
After a City corner Posh went forward and nearly scored but Nugent cleared off the line. However, the City defence was in disarray and Taylor scored with a fine long range shot.
City then seemed to lose the plot completely. Schmeichel completely needlessly hared out of goal and brought down a Posh forward. Fortunately he redeemed himself with yet another fine penalty save.
Pearson was going apoplectic on the touchline and with good reason. Did the players really want to win the match? Wellens and Schlupp came on for St Ledger and Dyer and the tempo upped a bit. Crosses rained in on the Posh defence.
Their goalie was really clueless and the defence in front not much better but we just did not play with enough conviction and quality to convert the chances which were created. City looked vulnerable to Posh to fast breaks as the match progressed to its end.
The end of the match summed it up for me. Beckford, who had an awful game, had a hissy fit and refused to go forward for a corner and stayed back in defence. I have no idea why but it was inexcusable.
Pearson seemed to storm off at the end without applauding the fans and I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in the dressing room to hear what he had to say to the team and Beckford in particular. I am afraid there were some muted boos from the City fans.
In my opinion this match was lost in the players heads. They never played with real conviction that they could score and win and until they get their mental approach right this team will always be inconsistent. Posh were there for the taking and played as we expected, with attacking intent and with a porous defence. City got what they deserved- nothing!
City: Schmeichel, Peltier, Morgan, St. Ledger (Wellens 65), Konchesky, Drinkwater, Bamba, Marshall, Dyer (Schlupp 69), Beckford, Nugent. Unused subs: Howard, King, Kennedy.
Booked: Schmeichel, Nugent
Peterborough: Jones; Little, Brisley, Alcock, Rowe; McCann (c); Frecklington, Boyd; Tomlin; Taylor, Barnett (Sinclair 29). Unused subs: Lewis, Ball, Kearns, Ntlhe.
Goals: Taylor 60 Booked: Alcock
Referee: Michael Oliver (Northumberland)
The views expressed in this report are the opinions of the Trust member nominated to file the report only and do not represent the views of the Foxes Trust organisation