By Nathan Jackson
January 28 2007

City secured their first win of 2007 with a hard fought victory over Peterborough via the head of striker Mark Stallard. It was far from a classic match as neither side managed many shots on target, but the 71st minute goal now means that City are back in the automatic promotion hunt.

Cast your minds back to December 23^rd 2006 at roughly 3pm, the game between Peterborough United and Lincoln City kicks off with both sides knowing a Posh victory would mean they’d draw level on points with City. Little over a month after Posh could have drawn level on points, they now find themselves sitting a full 18 points behind the Imps. I wonder if Posh’s Adam Newton is still convinced that they’re a much better side than us?

 

Saturday was another example of City not playing particularly well for the majority of the game but still coming out with something. It seems almost ironic that the only game we’ve completely dominated this calendar year is the only game we’ve lost. The game against Posh was a nerve-racking affair but City were rarely troubled as the only shots that Peterborough did get on target, didn’t trouble Marriott. You can see that confidence is down after previously been on a run of 7 straight defeats, and it seems like it’ll take something special for them to get out of that run. Let’s hope they can do City a favour on Tuesday night when they face Swindon though.

 

There’s a certain player who I’ll admit I’m rarely quick to praise. A player who at times I don’t think has deserved to be in the side, and once or twice has cost us a few goals, but this week he was immense, and that man is Nat Brown. If there’s one man that won us the match today, it’s him. Whether it was his hit and hope clearances, or his last minute tackles, Brown was a rock in defence today. All that was missing from his game today was one of his 30 yard volleys.

 

Other than that, the only other player that started the game who seems worth mentioning is Paul Mayo. I’ve personally never been one of the “Mayo boo-boys” and I’m pleased that he’s ignoring those that do boo him because when he is on form, he is a very good player. Granted his attempt at a throw in midway through the second half was frustrating, but other than Nat Brown, he was easily our best player on the pitch.

 

As for the new signings, Green didn’t have a chance to get into the game, whereas N’Guessan had fairly good period on the pitch, and once he’s fully fit he could be a very good player. He showed a willingness to get stuck in, and played one of two fairly decent passes.

 

My final comment for the day is that against all the odds, City are right back in the title hunt after Boston did us a favour. If Peterborough can beat Swindon on Tuesday night, it will mean that City will remain just 4 points behind Walsall with 16 games left, including games against Walsall, Swindon, and Hartlepool. It could be about to get interesting.