.jpg "Happy Poshies (Leicester)")
Happy Poshies (copyright S.Turner)
As if scoring the winner against Northampton wasn’t enough, Charlie Lee may just have written his name into Posh folklore once more. This time, it was a delightful goal, backed up by a sensational 90 minutes of defensive dominance, that caused London Road to sing his name in unison.
With the nation listening on FiveLive, Posh took all three points against the division’s top side, Leicester City. Posh had been thoroughly panned in the away fixture, losing 4-0 to a team seemingly destined for the title. And in the early stages of the London Road encounter, a slightly makeshift Leicester looked bright, with veteran striker Paul Dickov putting himself about with all the charm of a serial puppy-drowner.
But then the sky went dark, the wind whipped up and, as the hail lashed down at a 45° angle, sending the occupants of the family stand into a mad scramble for cover, it was Posh who better weathered the storm. The home side took the game to the table-topping visitors, forcing a corner which led to man of the match Lee’s sensational opener. The battling cheeky chappy wrong-footed his hapless marker, drifted past two equally bemused Leicester defenders and fired the ball across Tony Warner and inside the far post.
Half-time followed, the sky brightened, then quickly resumed its torrent of ice pellets, and, as play resumed, it was Posh who looked the more dangerous side. McLean and Mackail-Smith terrorised the sodden City cloggers, who were reduced to fighting among themselves such was their frustration. Mackail-Smith showed all the running we’ve come to expect - as well as the disappointing finishing from one-on-ones we’ve become accustomed to.
But he’s not one to let things like that get hm down, and it was a typically direct run from CMS, and incisive pass, that created the killer goal for Chris Whelpdale. Whelpdale collected the ball, took a touch and, from a tight angle, kept his composure to drill the ball low into the far corner. It was a well deserved goal from a man really starting to blossom into a fine footballer. Whelpdale looked assured, confident, mature - everything you could ask from your players in such a big match.
And so it ended. 2-0. With Joe Lewis barely troubled by the once free-scoring Fryatt and ageing nasty piece of work Dickov. For that he can thank Zakuani and Lee, both imperious in the centre of defence, while Keates and Coutts continued to forge a successful partnership in the middle of the park - Keates directing play and putting a foot in front of any Leicester breakaway, Coutts a visionary ball-player with the ability to change the flow of the game in a single pass.
With Milton Keynes losing to Leeds, Millwall have emerged as the strongest threat to Posh’s automatic promotion hopes. But, on the strength of this game, perhaps it will be the Foxes who are more readily checking over their shoulder for the chasing pack.
If you went to the match remember to rate the players.