PETERBOROUGH UNITED BOSS PASSED A COUPLE OF BIG MILESTONES RECENTLY, AS OUR 'TALE-OF-THE-TAPE' SUGGESTS A CLOSE PLAY-OFF ENCOUNTER WITH OXFORD UNITED.
Darren Ferguson reached 600 games as Peterborough United manager recently.
He won his milestone match 2-0 at Bristol Rovers last month. His 603rd game in charge is the play-off semi-final first leg at Oxford United on Saturday.
Posh have won 274 games under Ferguson, with 120 draws and 208 defeats. Posh have scored 1004 goals in Ferguson’s four spells in charge and conceded 198 goals. Ricky-Jade Jones scored the 1000th Posh goal of Ferguson's management in the final minute at Rovers.
Will Ferguson’s experience make a difference to the outcome against Oxford? It forms part of a ‘tale of the tape’ contest Posh have put together. The second is scheduled for the Weston Homes Stadium on Wednesday, May 8 (8pm).
Form
Only one winner here as Oxford have the best record in the whole of League One over the last games of the season. They won five, drew two and lost one of those games, scoring 19 goals and conceding just four. Posh gained four few points over the same period, scored four fewer goals and conceded 11 more! 1-0 Oxford
Attack
Posh were the top scorers in League One with 89 goals in 46 games, 10 more than Oxford. Posh had 15 different goal-scorers and four them reached double figures. Oxford have had 18 different goal-scorers with two reaching double figures. Oxford top scorer Mark Harris (15) has one more goal than Ephron Mason-Clark who is the Posh top scorer. 1-1
Defence
Posh conceded 61 League One goals, five more than Oxford. Perhaps surprisingly Posh kept 14 clean sheets, two more than Oxford. Both clubs changed goalkeepers in the second-half of the season. Jed Steer has kept three clean sheets in 17 League One games for Posh. Jami Cumming has kept five clean sheets in 20 League One games for Oxford. 2-1 Oxford.
This season
Oxford won the two League One games 5-3 on aggregate. It was 3-0 Posh at London Road in December and 5-0 to Oxford at Grenoble Road in December. 3-1 Oxford.
Last five meetings
Oxford haven’t won any of their last five matches at Posh in all competitions. Oxford’s win at home this season was a first in four games against Posh. 3-2 Oxford.
Overall historical form
Posh have won six and lost five of 18 Football League games at home to Oxford. Posh have seven and lost nine of 18 away games. Oxford shade the overall head-to-head 14-13 with nine draws. Posh do win the goals count though, 50-49. 4-2 Oxford.
Manager
Posh have a five-time promotion winner at the helm, four of them with Posh, three of them from League One and one through the play-offs. Oxford’s manager, Des Buckingham, is in his first Football League manager’s job. 4-3 Oxford.
Play-off experience
Posh won their first three forays into play-off football, but have lost their last two, including last season’s emotionally damaging defeat to Sheffield Wednesday. Oxford have featured in two Football League play-off campaigns, both in League One, losing in the final to Wycombe in 2020 and in the semi-final to Blackpool the following season. 4-4.
Fan power
Posh averaged 9,045 gates for 23 League One home games this season, the ninth best in the division. Oxford were 10th best in the division with an average of 9,021 so nothing in it really. Oxford have sold out their allocations for both games. Posh expect to do the same. 4-4.
TV form
Posh have won all three of their live matches on Sky Sports this season and scored three goals in each of them. Oxford were beaten 5-0 at Bolton live on TV and held to a 1-1 home draw by Stevenage in their two live TV games. 5-4 Posh.
And the referee..
Fast-track official Lewis Smith is in charge of Saturday’s semi-final. He has refereed two Posh games this season, the 4-2 League One home defeat at the hands of Derby County and the 3-0 EFL Trophy semi-final win at Blackpool. Smith is yet to referee Oxford. He has officiated one Premier League game so far this season. Smith had brandished 168 yellow cards and six red cards in 44 outings this season.
2024-05-03T14:07:44Z dg43tfdfdgfd