Vital Posh looks at previous matches between Coventry City and Peterborough United.
Peterborough United travel to midlands rivals Coventry City for a crunch game which could see Posh edge closer to Championship safety or it could drag them further into the relegation dog-fight which currently includes Coventry.
There have only ever been 9 League meetings between these two sides with the Sky Blues slightly edging it with five wins compared to three for Posh. There has only ever been one draw.
The corresponding match back in mid-December finished in a 1-0 win for Posh thanks to an Emile Sinclair goal scored in the 66th minute.
| Past League Results | |||||||
| 2011/12 | 17 Dec | Peterborough | 1 | – | 0 | Coventry | Championship |
| 2009/10 | 06 Mar | Peterborough | 1 | – | 0 | Coventry | Championship |
| 2009/10 | 12 Dec | Coventry | 3 | – | 2 | Peterborough | Championship |
| 1963/64 | 20 Apr | Peterborough | 2 | – | 0 | Coventry | Division 3 (Old) |
| 1963/64 | 09 Nov | Coventry | 3 | – | 2 | Peterborough | Division 3 (Old) |
| 1962/63 | 29 Dec | Coventry | 3 | – | 3 | Peterborough | Division 3 (Old) |
| 1962/63 | 26 Dec | Peterborough | 0 | – | 3 | Coventry | Division 3 (Old) |
| 1961/62 | 10 Feb | Peterborough | 2 | – | 3 | Coventry | Division 3 (Old) |
| 1961/62 | 23 Sep | Coventry | 1 | – | 3 | Peterborough | Division 3 (Old) |
Last Time Out at Ricoh Arena
With just under half the season gone, both teams were at the wrong end of the championship with Posh bottom on 14 points and City just outside the relegation places in 20th place on 19 points.
Mark Cooper was hoping for an early Christmas present in the form of three points and having witnessed Posh come from two goals down in this match to draw level, he felt Posh could go on to win the game. That feeling didn`t last long as less than a minute after Posh equalised, Freddie Eastwood struck a hat-trick goal to win the game.
Posh made a bright start as they won the first corner of the game after six minutes when a cross by George Boyd was blocked by Stephen Wright. The corner came to nothing as they couldn`t get the ball past the first defender!
Some neat play by Posh saw Scott Griffiths combine well with Boyd to set Craig Mackail-Smith free to put in a cross but it was easily cut out at the near post.
Posh were much the brighter side and were creating a lot of chances. Lee Frecklington fired over following a neat cut back from Chris Whelpdale while an excellent run from Paul Coutts finished with a pass to Boyd who saw his low shot pushed past the post by keeper Westwood for another Posh corner.
A free-kick by Boyd was only half cleared and the ball dropped kindly to Frecklington but his half volley was saved by Westwood.
Long throw specialist Exodus Geohaghon arrowed a throw into the penalty area which caused chaos as Ryan Bennett prodded the ball into the six-yard box only to see Mackail-Smith direct his header over the bar.
Coventry applied some pressure on the half hour mark winning successive corners and it was from the second corner that Freddie EASTWOOD managed to scramble the ball into the back of the net after Barnett had headed the ball back across the area.
Soon afterwards, Coventry went two up following a long throw from Gunnarson into the box was flicked on to the head of EASTWOOD who planted the ball past Lewis.
Despite being the dominant side, Posh now found themselves 2-0 down! Sound familiar? I certainly hope this season doesn`t end up with the same result after all the games Posh have dominated but failed to score in and ultimately dropped vital points.
The two goals certainly boosted Coventry`s confidence as they finished the stronger of the two sides with Jack Cork having the last chance of the half, only to be denied by Lewis.
Half-time: Coventry City 2 – 0 Peterborough United
Posh started the second half in much the same way as the first half had been played out with Posh in command.
An Aaron McLean cross was cut out by Cranie which led to Paul Coutts having the first effort of the half, but his weak effort didn`t trouble Westwood. Another massive throw from Exodus nearly ended up with a goal for Posh but McLean blazed high over the bar after the ball had been flicked into his path.
Exodus nearly opened Posh`s goal account but his header, from a Boyd free-kick, went inches wide of the post with Bennett almost getting on the end of it but was unable to reach the ball. Shaun Batt was then introduced in place of Coutts in an effort to utilise Batts speed on the wing.
Some good work from McLean set up Frecklington for a chance but he sliced his effort wide of the target. Posh finally got on the score sheet after 66 minutes when another Exodus throw caused problems in the area. The ball was flicked on by Morgan to Craig MACKAIL-SMITH who buried the ball into the back of the net.
Posh continued to press and got their just rewards when a swerving shot from Boyd caused Westwood problems. The keeper could only parry the ball away and luckily for Posh, it went straight to MACKAIL-SMITH who struck the ball into the ground and over the keeper.
It was now game on. Posh had dominated the match and had now deservedly got back level. If any team was going to go on to win the match, surely it would be Posh?
Sadly not!
Less than a minute after equalising, City were back in front. Some poor defending by Posh allowed a simple free-kick to drift into the area where Best headed the ball back across goal allowing EASTWOOD another simple task of tucking it away for what turned out to be the winning goal.
Posh kept on peppering the Coventry goal with efforts though in attempt to win at least a point. Frecklington fired wide of the target again following another Exodus throw. Joe Lewis ventured forward in stoppage time as Posh won a number of corners and throw-ins but the only threat came when McLean had a header cleared off the line by Clingan as the hosts held on to the win.
Final Score: Coventry City 3 – 2 Peterborough United
Coventry jumped up one place to 19th following this win while Posh edged further away from safety.
Coventry: Westwood, Wright, Bell (sub Morrison 79min), Best (sub Madine 82min), Eastwood (sub Clingan 87min), van Aanholt, Cranie, Gunnarson, Cork, McIndoe, Barnett.
Unused subs: Ireland, McPake, Hussey, Grandison.
Posh: Lewis, Morgan, Geohaghon,Bennett, Griffiths, Frecklington, Coutts (sub Batt 62min), Whelpdale (sub Simpson 78min), Boyd, Mclean, Mackail-Smith.
Unused subs: McKeown, Lee, Rowe, Diagouraga, Green.
Referee: R. East
Attendance: 15,119 (1,341 Posh fans)
| Coventry | Peterborough | |
| Goals: | 3 | 2 |
| Possession: | 53% | 47% |
| Shots On Target: | 7 | 11 |
| Shots Off Target: | 4 | 8 |
| Corners: | 5 | 13 |
| Fouls: | 17 | 13 |
| Most Fouls: | Barnett (4) | Frecklington (5) |
| Yellow Cards: | 2 | 1 |
| Red Cards: | 0 | 0 |
| Scorers: | Eastwood (34) Eastwood (35) Eastwood (72) |
Mackail-Smith (66) Mackail-Smith (71) |
UP THE POSH Follow me on Twitter: @mwl1967
Photos courtesy of www.theposhpics.com
