Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Peterborough and Birmingham at the Weston Homes Stadium as a Harlee Dean own goal, Jonson Clarke-Harris' penalty and Jorge Grant sealed an emphatic win for Posh
Saturday 18 September 2021 18:37, UK
Peterborough snapped their four-match losing streak in the Championship in stunning style by blowing away 10-man Birmingham 3-0 at home.
On the day Darren Ferguson broke the record of most games managed by a Posh boss, his 492nd match at the helm was certainly among the happiest as it came complete with a 222nd win - and few of the previous 221 have been as emphatic or essential as this triumph.
The form book went out of the window as a Posh side, who had slumped to four successive Championship defeats, dominated a City team previously unbeaten on their travels.
Ferguson's men made the perfect start inside the opening minute - albeit with a helping hand from the visitors as stretching City skipper Harlee Dean could only steer a Siriki Dembele cut-back past his own goalkeeper Matija Sarkic with 58 seconds on the clock.
Ferguson handed a first league start to David Cornell in goal with regular number one Christy Pym missing due to illness but the Welshman was rarely pressed into action by a City side featuring full debutant Troy Deeney in their attack.
The former Watford man did force Cornell into a routine stop with the second of two headed efforts around the midway point of the opening period but there was considerably more threat posed at the other end.
Dembele saw a shot well blocked seconds after Jack Taylor danced round the onrushing Sarkic only to be carried too wide to be able to get in a shot at a gaping target.
But Posh didn't have to wait long to double their advantage as referee Jarred Gillett pointed to the spot when Jorge Grant was brought down by Ryan Woods after being sent clear by a fine Dembele pass.
Jonson Clarke-Harris had no trouble in tucking away his second penalty in three games by sending Sarkic the wrong way in the 35th minute.
He should have been celebrating again moments later only to fluff his lines with just Sarkic to beat but Posh were well in command.
Birmingham boss Lee Bowyer rolled the dice with a double change at the break and it almost reaped instant reward with Woods being denied by Cornell from a tight angle.
But City were again on the receiving end as the crucial third goal arrived five minutes into the second half with chief Posh tormentor Dembele again doing much of the damage.
He tricked his way inside and picked out Grant, who claimed his first Posh goal with a precise finish from the edge of the box in the 50th minute.
The outcome was put beyond doubt when City midfielder Gary Gardner saw red in the 65th minute for a shocking challenge on Nathan Thompson.
That left Posh to comfortably see out a second success of the campaign with a terrific Cornell stop late on denying Deeney a consolation for the well-beaten Blues.
Peterborough's Darren Ferguson: "It's not an easy thing to do to manage that many games and surpass a record that belonged to someone like Barry, who is a legend in the game.
"It's a proud moment as this is the club that has given me the most success throughout my career of 34 years. I've been here three times and the club means everything to me. It has brought me, my wife and my family so much joy."
Birmingham's Lee Bowyer: "Peterborough had the extra 24 hours rest with playing on Tuesday and us playing on Wednesday against a really good Fulham side - and it showed. They were first to everything whereas we were just a yard off in everything we tried to do. We couldn't physically do any of the things we're good at. It wasn't just one or two players either - it was near on all of them. All day nothing went our way. We couldn't score in the first half to get level at 1-1 and then they got a penalty for 2-0 10 seconds later.
"We started well in the second half after changing things around and created chances but then a pass from one of our players hit another one on the heel and Peterborough broke to score the third. But we can't make excuses as they were the better side and fully deserved their win. We've now got a full week of training in which we can recharge our batteries and work on getting things right again."
