Darren Ferguson pleased with Peterborough response in Wigan win

Jan 28, 2025 2 min read
Darren Ferguson’s Peterborough edged Wigan (Bradley Collyer/PA)
Darren Ferguson’s Peterborough edged Wigan (Bradley Collyer/PA)

Peterborough manager Darren Ferguson got the response he demanded of his players as they picked up a much-needed 1-0 League One victory over Wigan at the Weston Homes Stadium.

Ferguson made five changes from the Posh’s 5-1 thrashing at Lincoln last Saturday and what he got was a much more solid display that earned a first league win in nine games.

Peterborough remain six points clear of the relegation zone and they were rarely troubled by a Wigan line-up without top scorer Thelo Aasgaard, who is on the verge of a transfer to Championship side Luton.

Ferguson said: “I had a free hit after Saturday, but we got a reaction and I’ve just said to the players ‘what kind of performances do you want to give? What would you rather have: the last three home ones or the Saturday, where we just let each other down’?

“You’ve got a happy dressing room, you’ve got a winning dressing room and now we’ve got to back that up and get back to winning away from home because that’s a horrible one as well.

“I thought in the first half we were very good, we started really well with a lot of confidence, considering what happened on Saturday, a lot of belief, (we were) really aggressive.

“We took the game to them, scored a great goal, a really good goal, a great cross, brave header by Mo (Susoho) and I was delighted at half-time, apart from the fact we maybe could have gone further ahead.”

Peterborough’s goal came in the 19th minute when Tayo Edun’s cross was met by a diving header from Mahamadou Susoho that went in off the post.

The Posh had chances to wrap the game up, with Wigan goalkeeper Sam Tickle saving from Ricky-Jade Jones and Chris Conn-Clarke, but this was a deserved victory.

Wigan boss Shaun Maloney said: “I think the game was lost definitely in the first 30 minutes, but probably the whole of the first half, really.

“The second half I can accept – we maybe didn’t create enough for the areas we got in, but the first half, I didn’t like.

“I can be quite critical of certain things, but it’s not been the easiest period today, really, so I don’t blame the players.

“There were some things we had to try and do tactically and it didn’t work first half, so we changed that at half-time and then the intent of the players was completely different.

“They were definitely better than us in the first half, that was where the game was lost.

“There was only really Jason (Kerr) who went to attack the ball (for Peterborough’s goal) and we have to defend those moments better. We were second-best first half.”

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