A fairly impre sive Posh performance counted for nothing as Colchester United came from behind to grab three points in the final minutes of the match.Darren Ferguson named an un-changed line-up from the one that had looked so impre sive last weekend against Hartlepool. The Posh also lined up in the same diamond formation that seems to be Fergusons tactic of choice. John Ward made four changes to the side that had played against Brighton on Tuesday night with Nathan Clarke making his debut at centre back for the hosts.Posh could have hardly started better after obviously being fired up by a Ferguson team-talk. A swift pa sing move saw Chris Whelpdale invited to get forward from right-back collecting a pa s from Charlie Lee and once he beat his marker Whelpdale put over a delicate cro s to the far post for TOMMY ROWE to head home, beating two Colchester United defenders to the ball. Ferguson would have been especially pleased with the goal as a pivotal feature of his new strategy is that both full-backs effectively play as wing-backs and are expected to provide width for the team. This particular feature had worked to perfection here, giving Posh an early advantage to hold onto.The Colchester United fans were becoming increasingly frustrated with their sides early performance as Posh dominated proceedings, retaining po se sion well, and it was the visitors who looked more likely to extend their advantage further. Indeed, it wasnt long before Posh went close again through George Boyd who flashed a shot just wide of Ben Williams far post after some clever skill.The hosts did have their first shot of the match moments later however when Andy Bond smashed a long-range shot straight at Lewis who could only parry the ball back in-front of him but, luckily for Peterborough, Lee was on hand to clear the danger. Lewis had made the speculative effort seem closer than it actually was to being an equalising goal by making a meal out of a relatively comfortable save.Peterborough were moving the ball fantastically well as the half went on and Colchester were having to work hard to keep their shape to reduce the likelihood of The Posh scoring a second, asThe Poshlooked to switch play on regular occasions meaning the home sides defence was constantly having to adjust their positions. However, when Boyd played a wonderfully weighted pa s into the feet of Lee Tomlin, who was clear of the last defender, Posh did have a chance to extend their lead but Tomlin smashed his shot straight at Williams when he really should have scored.Posh once again went close as Chris Whelpdale powered a header at goal from a Lee Tomlin corner but his effort smashed off the post and, agonizingly, rolled acro s the line before Clarke could clear for The Us. Colchester United were having to cope with a barrage of Posh pre sure now and it seemed inevitable that the away side would add a second but when Mackail-Smith tried the speculative from close-range, rather than making sure of scoring, it was a question of wondering whether Posh would be cursing their lack of composure in-front of goal. This seemed to be the warning side that Colchester United needed and they fired into life, forging their first period of pre sure in the half. And it wasnt long before Poshs defence buckled, as it had been guilty of doing so throughout the season, when a fairly innocuous cro s was put into the box Kelvin Langmead inexplicably tried to head a low ball and his clearance arrived straight at the feet of STEPHEN GILLISPIE, who took a touch to steady himself, before firing past a helple s Lewis. The goal had came as a result of a calamity of errors from Peterborough. Initially starting when Lewis played a poor pa s into Bennett, who was under pre sure,before both Kennedy and Lee wasted chances to clear before Langmeads poor clearance proved costly.The visitors, who had appeared so comfortable for the large majority of the first half, where now looking nervous and Colchester came close to taking the lead when a powerful header from an un-marked Lee Beevers was well cleared by Tommy Rowe. The guiltyplayer for leaving Beevers free, not once but twice, was Kelvin Langmead as the Colchester United defender simply made the same run twice although first time he was not spotted and weak marking had left him in acres of space.As the half-time whistle blew it came as a relief for the away side who looked likely to allow Colchester United to add a second to their total. Indeed, Ferguson had been forced to change to a 4-2-3-1 formation to see Derick Brassard Women Jersey out the half. Poor defending was once again to blame and, as Ferguson pointed out in his first programme notes, a team that had been low on confidence had immediately seemed nervous. It was now a question of regrouping and starting the second half as The Posh had opened the first.The visitors did exactly this. Once again they seemed calm with the ball and when the space opened up for Charlie Lee to smash a long-range shot it looked as if he was to give Posh the lead for the second time in the match but the ball hammered down off the underside of the cro s-bar before bouncing clear the Colchester United goal. It was a fantastic strike from Lee that seemed destined for the back of the net, with Williams helple s, but Poshs luck was out and it meant that the scores remained level.The Us quickly retaliated though and had a good shout for a penalty when Chris Whelpdale appeared to control the ball with an arm but the referee allowed play to go on. Andy Bond also tried his luck from range but Lewis made a comfortable save.But Posh had started the better of the two sides and when Mackail-Smith raced clear after a clever pa s from Tomlin it seemed that he was destined to put Posh in-front but Matt Heath got back wonderfully well to put Peterboroughs top goalscorer under pre sure. In-truth Mackail-Smith will have felt disappointed not to test Williams in the Colchester goal, even with Heath bearing down on him, but credit must go to the defender who did well to get back.Peterborough then had two penalty appeals in quick succe sion as they were firmly placed in the Colchester United half. Firstly, a hand-ball from Lee Beevers was not deemed to be a penalty by referee Phil Cro sley and then Wesolowski was booked for a dive as he burst clear off the last defender. Both appealsappeared to belegitimate. Beevers definitely handled but it was certainly not intentionally and Wesolowski was clipped but a moments hesitation before going down had obviously led to the referee feeling that he gone down too easily.The visitors appeared to tire in the final stages of the game and Colchester looked to capitalise on this as they hoped one last spell of pre sure would be enough to grab them three points out of a game that had seen them have to defend for large periods. First Ryan Bennett had to clear of the line, hacking the ball away after a powerful header, and then Andy Bonds spectacular long-range effort went just wide of Lewis goal.Just as the game seemed destined to end up as a draw Colchester United, who had now seized the initiative, put in a hopeful cro s which was not cleared by the Posh defence and, after the ball had ran loose, DAVID MOONEY remained calm to slot the ball past Lewis and give the hosts an important victory. It had been a hugelyimportantstrike for Colchester and that much was evident from the celebrations of both players and fans as a relatively quiet home support erupted in jubilation and Mooney sprinted into the home support behind the goal.The goal was not to be the final action of the match though as Mendez-Laing, a late substitute from Ferguson, was tripped inside the area but whether he truly had control of the ball may have been the deciding factor as Phil Cro sley rejected desperate appeals from Peterborough fans and players. Lee Tomlin then burst pa sed Nathan Clarke before lashing the ball acro s goal but unfortunately no red-shirted player was there to tap the ball into an empty net.This was a game that we really should have won. We dominated the match for the large majority of play but never capitalised on our chances and threw away a lead through a combination of awful defending and poor finishing. Neither of Colchesters goals were particularly Logan Brown Jersey well worked and both had been avoidable. However, credit to thehosts who, when they did have pre sure, capitalised on the fact that we could not fend it off and were clinical in-front of goal. They are a well-organised team with some excellent players, notably David Perkins who was excellent throughout the game, and are likely to be in the play-off hunt at the end of the season.I was accused of having a vendetta against Langmead previously but again he was poor. He cost us a goal once again tonight and, although I will have to see the second goal again before forming an opinion on it, Boyd was clearly in discu sions with the former Shrewsbury player after the goal. However, not all the blame can be pinned on him as collectively as a defence we werent good enough for either goal. Craig Mackail-Smith and Lee Tomlin both had poor games going forward too.On a positive we kept po se sion as well as we have this season. It was great to see the ball being spread from one side of the pitch to another and we created a lot of chances as a result. It is nice to see both full-backs looking to pa s the ball back inside, with Lee who was again excellent againbeing pivotal, instead of looking to smash the ball into the channels as they had been guilty of regularly under Johnson.In the end walking away from the stadium it was a complete contrast of emotions from the last time Posh had left the Weston Homes Community Stadium. Frustration was the over-riding feeling this time round rather than unmeasured joy last time. However, for a defeat there were still a number of positives and it is easier to lose after seeing your team put in a good performance than not turning up, as we have been guilty of on numerous occasions this season away from home.Up The Posh.
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