Darren Ferguson praises “great character” as Peterborough late show rocks Wigan

Manager Darren Ferguson hailed his comeback kings as Peterborough powered clear at the League One summit on an afternoon of high drama.

Leading scorer Jonson Clarke-Harris roared to the rescue with a vital late double as Ferguson’s men snatched a sixth successive victory from the jaws of a shock defeat.

The lowly Latics were more than a match for their high-flying hosts and sensed a victory to climb out of the drop zone when substitute Thelo Aasgaard caught out Posh keeper Christy Pym direct from a 72nd-minute corner.

Joseph Dodoo had earlier been denied a fortunate first-half goal by a post while Pym was kept busy with a series of saves to thwart Gavin Massey, Viv Solomon-Otabor and Callum Lang in the second period.

But just as it appeared Posh would be heading for defeat, they produced a two-goal burst in the space of three minutes to transform the contest and surge four points clear.

Substitute Harrison Burrows made an immediate impact by delivering a super cross for Clarke-Harris to head Posh level with his 20th league goal of the season after 82 minutes.

The hottest player in League One was celebrating again moments later with Clarke-Harris sending keeper Jamie Jones the wrong way from the penalty spot after Siriki Dembele was upended by Tendayi Darikwa.

It meant Ferguson could really celebrate reaching a century of games at the helm in his third spell as Posh boss.

He said: “That was a fantastic three points for us.

“All we need to do is focus on winning as many games as we possibly can – and this was an important one.

“It was a very different kind of victory because we were a little under par and found ourselves behind to a freak of a goal.

“But the way we responded was brilliant. The quality of the goal to equalise was superb and there is no doubt it was definitely a penalty for the winner.

“Jonno (Clarke-Harris) did what Jonno does again. If we give him the service and give him the chances, he puts the ball in the back of the net.

“But it was great character from everyone to come from behind in the way we did because Wigan came here and had a right go at us.

“The substitutes, in particular, made a big difference and really helped us to win the game and keep our run going.

“Our home record is absolutely outstanding and long may that continue.”

Caretaker Wigan boss Leam Richardson was left to lick his wounds after suffering heartbreak at the hands of the team sitting top of League One for the second successive Saturday.

Richardson, whose men were pipped by Lincoln the previous weekend, was annoyed by the decision to award the crucial penalty to Posh but also took considerable pride from the pain of seeing more precious points slip away.

He said: “With the effort levels and application that went into the performance, we can feel hard done by.

“We were a threat from set-pieces all day and Thelo managed to score from the corner to give us the lead but we haven’t got our just rewards and that is disappointing.

“The kid has gone down for the penalty and the referee had a big decision to make. If we had lost to a good goal or a nice pattern of play and strike, I’d be alright with it.

“To lose like we did is tinged with a bit of frustration but fair play to Peterborough they got the win.

“We know where we are at as a football club and a group of people. We came together very late as a squad and are finding our feet as we go.

“Our energy levels can drop after 75 minutes in games due to not many of the lads even having a pre-season.

“I’ve got no complaints with anyone and if we keep doing what we did in this game, we will get the luck and the results we need.

“I truly believe we will be alright.”