Will Peterborough’s inconsistency cost them promotion from League One?

While Peterborough United are still sat second in League One, their poor form has allowed their promotion rivals to bridge the gap at the top end of the table.

The Posh are aiming for promotion to the Championship after missing out on the playoffs via PPG last season. Although they currently occupy one of the two automatic promotion places in the third tier, the chasing pack aren’t far behind and are threatening to catch up ahead of the promotion run-in.

Darren Ferguson’s side have won just one of their last six league matches, drawing two and losing three, including a heavy 3-1 defeat at home to league leaders Hull. Nonetheless, a win for Peterborough in their game in hand would take them level on points with the Tigers going into the final games of the season.

But their most recent result, a 3-1 defeat away at Blackpool, provides a reality check for the Cambridgeshire outfit. With the gap at the top of the table becoming slimmer week by week, the Posh would do better to worry about the teams behind them rather than the one ahead of them.

Sunderland look the most likely to dump them out of the automatic promotion places, having only suffered one defeat in their last 14 league matches. Lincoln City also remain just four points behind the Posh despite their own recent dip in form. Peterborough still have to play both the Black Cats and the Imps before the end of the campaign.

But focus has to turn to their next opponents, Accrington Stanley, who travel to the Weston Homes Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Despite occupying 12th place in the league, John Coleman’s side sit just three points off the playoff places with their unlikely promotion bid staying alive. The Lancashire outfit had their own spell of poor form where they won just once in eight matches, but their recent 3-1 win at home to struggling Wigan has kept them within touching distance of the top six.

Having beaten the Posh 2-0 in the reverse fixture back in September, it seems unlikely that Accrington will turn up and play for a draw. However, they may take a more defensive-minded approach against their ultra-attacking opponents, who have the best home record in the division. Part of the visitors’ game plan will surely focus on nullifying Jonson Clarke-Harris, who remains the joint top scorer in League One with 22 goals.

Unsurprisingly, Peterborough head into the clash as heavy favourites, but complacency has been an issue which has caught them out many times before.

It’d be hard to argue that the Posh don’t have one of the best squads in the division, but the weight of expectation that comes with that has ultimately held them back. A shock defeat against a resurgent Burton side at the start of the month provides a good example, but perhaps the recent 3-3 draw away at Rochdale highlights their complacency more than any other result.

Siriki Dembele and Sammie Szmodics were both on the scoresheet in the first half, sending the visitors into the break with a 2-0 lead against their bottom-of-the-league opposition. But a second half comeback saw the Dale score three times in the second half, with two goals coming in the 87th and 90th minute respectively. A stoppage time penalty from Clarke-Harris prevented the Posh from walking away empty handed, but didn’t spare all of their blushes.

Having gone in at half-time with a 2-0 lead, the game should’ve been all but over, but Peterborough were seconds away from suffering defeat against a side that have picked up just two wins in 2021.

That’s the difference between a playoff team and a top two team, and Sunderland look far more likely to earn automatic promotion than Peterborough based on their current form. The Posh face a tough set of fixtures to finish the season, with all but three of their final ten opponents sitting in the top half of the table. Accrington still have something to fight for, and will prove strong opponents when they head to Cambridgeshire on Saturday.

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