Darren Ferguson says Peterborough’s away form is ‘horrendous’

Posted Sunday, December 19, 2021 by PA

Darren Ferguson bemoaned Peterborough’s ‘horrendous’ away form after seeing his side let a lead slip from their grasp in a 3-1 defeat at Blackpool in the Sky Bet Championship.

Posh managed to avoid becoming one of numerous EFL postponements due to Covid-19 but there seems no cure for their travel sickness, with this their 11th defeat in 12 matches on the road this season.

Siriki Dembele put the visitors in front in the 11th minutes but Keshi Anderson levelled just after the half-hour mark before late goals from Sonny Carey and Jerry Yates ensured Ferguson’s men will spend Christmas in the bottom three.

“It’s a hard one to take because we felt it was a real opportunity to get back-to-back wins,” Ferguson said.

“We just can’t seem to get the momentum we need at the moment.

“Our away form is horrendous, it’s the only word I can use to describe it. Our home form is what’s going to have to keep us in the league.

“We just keep getting beaten away from home, but I didn’t think we deserved to lose.

“I’m extremely disappointed and shocked how we’ve lost that game, to be honest.”

Dembele’s opener was deserved for a Posh side who started the game on top and they spurned a chance to double the advantage when Jonson Clarke-Harris fired high and wide.

Harrison Burrows and Jack Taylor saw efforts blocked in the second half as Ferguson’s men looked to restore their advantage but Blackpool’s late flurry ensured the points stayed with the hosts.

“We were just too rushed in the first half and gave the ball away too much,” the Posh boss added. “We just needed to be a bit calmer on the ball.

“Their deflected second goal sums up our luck away from home this season.

“We just didn’t have the cutting edge going the other way, we didn’t attack the ball enough.”

Ferguson’s opposite number Neil Critchley saluted his Blackpool side for ending their seven-match winless run in style.

Carey recovered from spurning a fine opportunity to score his first senior goal with a clinical 86th-minute finish and Yates’ bundled third sealed the deal.

“I’ve got full belief in this group of players, I was confident the players would perform,” he said.

“We did it the hard way, going 1-0 down, but we showed how much character we have. I’m just delighted the players got the rewards for their hard work.

“We’re been very fortunate to have played today considering the number of games called off because of coronavirus, so it was great to send the fans home happy.

“We all need a bit of happiness at the moment with what’s going on in the world.

“I thought we started a bit tentatively, which was to be expected given the run we’ve been on.

“Peterborough got control of the second half but our goalkeeper had nothing to do.”

Critchley has now challenged the Tangerines, who sit five points adrift of the play-off places, to kick on over the festive fixtures.

“We do want more,” he said. “We want to get better and be competitive in every game.

“This league is brutal. It’s easy to go on a run of losing games in this division, but based on chances in the game I thought we deserved to win today.”