The Imps face a short but challenging trip this weekend as they head down the A1 to tackle Peterborough United, writes Tom Morton.
Posh are a team securely in the top half of the table – it’s the better part of two decades since they dropped below the mid-point of League One. Indeed, they’ve qualified for the playoffs twice in a row, having been back in this tier for just three years.
Technically, they have lost two and won two so far this season. However, both losses were against Wresham and Huddersfield, challenging games to have early in the programme. Nevertheless, they will be keen to rack up a first home win.
Of course, most of Posh’s pre-season transfer news focused on a former player. Ivan Toney finally completed a slightly underwhelming £40m move to Saudi club Al-Ahli. This move will bank Peterborough several million in cash due to sell-on clauses that, in this league, will cover costs for a good few seasons.
But what about the actual business? They will not have been happy to lose Clarke-Harris on a free transfer to rivals Rotherham. Despite having a quieter season last time out, he is a proven goal scorer at this level. Inbound, they’ve picked up quite a few folks. The pick of the bunch might be Abraham Odoh and Jack Sparkes. Odoh is a left mid-fielder with some handy experience in the fourth tier, scoring nine times for Harrogate last season. Defender Sparkes joins them from a title-winning season with Portsmouth.
The midfield trio of Randall, Odoh and Poku looks handy. Indeed, they ran rings around Shrewsbury with both Poku and Randall scoring braces., They look pacey and well-drilled, in clips and won’t be afraid to run at our defense. They have a lovely move involving a pass into the edge of the box and a cutback to take a shot.
At the other end, their defence plays very tight around the 6-yard box, leaving a lot of space as the ball bounces back out. Huddersfield exploited this very well in their opening game. Ultimately, it feels like this game will be won or lost on our ability to lock out their midfield, who play a crucial part in their game plan.
Overall, our reputation against Posh has been unfortunate. Since returning to the third tier, we’ve managed just one win to their four (plus three draws). The most infamous game, of course, was one of those draws – in May 2021, they spun a 3-0 scoreline back to 3-3 in a game that finally ended our last chance of automatic promotion (and secured theirs).
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