Cheers aplenty for gritty show

Photo: Alan Howarth

THAT'S MINE: Combative midfielder Ousmane Fane gets in front of his Peterborough United opponent

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FIGHTING qualities came to the fore as Athletic powered past Peterborough to raise hopes of another John Sheridan rescue act.

Cranking up the pressure after a tepid first half, Sheridan's men pushed forward and eventually got a break thanks to a penalty.

Nobody quite knew where the foul occurred - Peter Clarke had moments earlier been hauled to the ground by Michael Bostwick when jostling to reach a cross - but the 69th-minute spot-kick by Paul Green was emphatic enough.

When Ryan McLaughlin doubled the lead after 82 minutes, the game was up for Grant McCann's play-off chasing side, who barely had a sniff of goal up until Marcus Maddison clipped the crossbar from long range in added time.

McCann said afterwards he was "disgusted" by the display from his team.

Posh certainly played to Athletic's strengths. Their creative men, Maddison included, didn't seem to fancy the rough stuff and the firing of long balls towards Clarke and Anthony Gerrard's orbits was never a recipe likely to lead to success.

For Athletic's part, this was an important result that was earned through midfield graft - Green and Ollie Banks in particular ran hard all game on returning to the line-up - and Aaron Amadi-Holloway added a physical focal point up front which has been missing all season.

As he hinted at following the 1-0 loss at Shrewsbury, Sheridan made changes - four of them, to be precise.

Out went Josh Law, Billy Mckay, Michael Ngoo and injury victim Cameron Dummigan. In that quartet's place came Jamie Reckord, for his first appearance since the Lincoln City FA Cup defeat, Banks, Green and Amadi-Holloway, who had an impact as a substitute on debut at Greenhous Meadow.

It meant a role up front for McLaughlin, as Sheridan sought to make it back-to-back victories on home soil in front of a bumper crowd of 7,224, the majority of whom were enticed by the free-ticket offer.

Athletic lined up with a diamond shape in midfield, with Ryan Flynn at its tip providing support for Amadi-Holloway and McLaughlin.

The first half was a fairly drab affair, at least in terms of quality moments in and around the penalty areas.

With Sheridan packing his midfield narrow in order to try to compete more effectively than his side had managed at times at Shrewsbury, the most promising moments in the first 45 minutes came through set-piece.

Brian Wilson was released well by Flynn down the right flank into space after 14 minutes, but couldn't pick out his man, while five minutes later came the closest moment before the interval.

Banks, who worked hard down the left side, played a channel ball that McLaughlin hared on to. Turning his marker, he let go with a low left-footed effort which threatened to defeat Luke McGee in the Posh goal through a deflection.

Peterborough were tidy enough on the counter, but ball-players like Maddison found it tough going. McCann's side failed to carve out a clear opening before the interval while at the other end, Clarke had a difficult chance after 37 minutes when he fired over the top on the turn with his left foot after a free-kick had been recycled into the danger area by McLaughlin.

HEAT

It was after the interval that Athletic really turned up the heat.

Green and McLaughlin saw efforts on target saved without too many problems by McGee before Clarke saw a header cleared off the line after one of a number of well-delivered Banks corner kicks.

Michael Bostwick hit a long-range effort down Connor Ripley's throat, but Athletic went in front after referee Michael Salisbury spotted an infringement in the box

With a number of grapples between the sides in the minutes leading up to it, it appeared the official's patience snapped and Green side-footed into the right corner, sending McGee the wrong way.

It was only the second time in the league all season that Athletic have managed a league goal in front of home fans stationed in the Rochdale Road Stand.

Before this contest, stats showed that Athletic's tally of 13 goals after 26 games was the second-worst in Football League history.

So when McLaughlin put Sheridan's side two-up, it was a journey into dreamland.

It was also, hopefully, a sign of things to come from Amadi-Holloway once he is fully match-fit.

Gerrard fired a lovely long pass into his path and the big striker did well to create room for a cross from the left. His centre was perfectly measured for McLaughlin, who calmly volleyed into the goal from six yards out.

Amadi-Holloway had earlier whizzed a right-footed shot narrowly over as a half-cleared corner fell to him, before Banks forced a low stop from McGee after neat build-up work from Flynn.

Athletic didn't just win here. By the end, they were enjoying themselves. Times really have changed, quickly.

IN A NUTSHELL: Athletic were better than their eighth-placed opponents, which bodes well.