Sports suffered injury time heartbreak when conceding a 93rd minute winner to 2nd placed Bromsgrove Sporting, after a contest that was full of goals in the first half and full of quality in the 2nd half. The Turbines arrived in Worcestershire almost at full strength, bar long term absentee Stuart Wall, after Mark Jones passed a late fitness test.
The hosts have an insane average attendance, and yet the crowd for this context would have to be described on the low side at 772 (oh to have that problem!). It included the standard tiny, but loyal and vocal 20 from Peterborough and the banter between the supporters just about managed to stay the right side of the line for a breathless contest.
Whilst this report may go against the grain, despite there being 5 goals in the 1st half, it was more akin to the Manchester United v Arsenal midweek game with the main talking points being defensive mistakes, particularly from the visitors and neither side was massively impressive in the opening 45 minutes
Brendan Kelly’s home side took the lead after three minutes, as the clear man-of-the-match Charlie Dowd expertly volleyed home with his left-foot after seemingly waiting an age for Jason Cowley’s back post cross to drop onto his boot.
Just 11 minutes later, Sports, who had only shipped eight goals prior to the game were back on level terms when Lewis Hilliard curled in from close range, after good work from the Turbines biggest threat in Dembie-Ferris
Peterborough then nosed themselves ahead in the 26th minute when Dion Sembie-Ferris capitalised on a misplaced back pass from Roberts. Although his lobbed effort was going wide, he had the pace to get to the ball before it went out of play and tap home from an acute angle, with some of the home following claiming handball
Just four minutes later, though, Sporting were back on level terms. After Cowley lost the ball in the middle of the park, he showed great endeavour to win the ball back from Paul Malone before charging down on goal and lobbing over Moat for 2-2. Moat then had to be at his best seven minutes later to deny Dowd, who had cut inside onto his left foot before letting fly.
Right on the stroke of half-time Sporting were given a great chance to go into the break ahead when they were awarded a penalty after Shorrock was brought down by Mitchell Griffiths for a clear penalty. Griffiths and the rest of the Sports rearguard won't look back on the game with any great pleasure, particularly the first hour of the contest when they were very much 2nd best.
Top scorer Richard Gregory calmly smashed the ball into the bottom right-hand corner from the resulting penalty to put his side back in front with the last kick of the opening half
Moments into the second period Gregory had two good chances to double Sporting’s lead but a lobbed effort was blocked by Moat before the former Stafford Rangers frontman blazed over from the edge of the area moments later.
Trying to get their way back into the game, Peterborough went all guns blazing by switching to a 4-2-4 formation after bringing on pacey substitutes Avelino Vieira, Joshua McCammon and Abduramane Sano-Sali.
And the move paid dividends in the 65th minute when Vieira smashed home from close range after Sporting failed to clear their lines properly from Griffiths’ delivery from the right-hand side.
Peterborough should have took the lead with 16 minutes remaining but Vieira could only hit the underside the bar from only a couple of yards out with the keeper on the floor before Sembie-Ferris hit the far post with an angled drive eight minutes later. The Peterborough onslaught continued but Sporting weathered the storm and with the game heading for a 3-3 draw, up stepped Shorrock to nab the winner.
We were into the third minute of second-half injury time, when the former Walsall man danced his way past a couple of Peterborough defenders and into the box where he beautifully curled the ball beyond Lewis Moat and into the far corner.
A draw would have been a fair result seemed to be the general feeling of both camps, but that last-gasp goal ensured the Rouslers maintained their 100 per cent winning record in league games at the Victoria Ground, though Sports remain top of the division as we head towards the busy Xmas period.
Report courtesy of Peterborough Sports. |