Peterborough manager Darren Ferguson saluted his team’s character after they twice came from behind to snatch a dramatic 3-2 win at promotion rivals Derby.
Ferguson saw his side level late on and then take all three points with a stoppage-time winner from Ricky-Jade Jones.
Derby had made a sensational start to 2024 with Tom Barkhuizen crossing for James Collins to head in after only 22 seconds, but Peterborough hit back in the ninth minute when Harrison Burrows found the bottom left corner from 15 yards.
The speed and accuracy of Peterborough’s passing was a threat but they wasted chances with Joel Randall squandering the best of them when he fired over in the 50th minute.
That looked to be a pivotal moment when Derby regained the lead on the hour after Hector Kyprianou handled a free-kick and although Collins’ penalty was saved, he headed in the rebound.
But Posh managed to turn the game around with Kwame Poku heading in a Burrows cross in the 84th minute before Jones prodded the ball past Joe Wildsmith in the third minute of added time.
Ferguson said: “The character the boys have shown, it’s the key ingredient to being successful. If you haven’t got that you’ve got no chance and these lads have got it in abundance at the moment.
“You don’t expect to go 1-0 down after 20 seconds, that was such a bad start, but the calmness of the players was bang on, they stuck to the game plan.
“I thought we reacted and responded to going behind very very well, and toward the 50-minute mark I thought we should have been 2-1 or 3-1 up
“We played quick, we played small passes and made them run as much as possible and I thought we thoroughly deserved the win
“I’m so proud, so proud of the youngest team in the league and I think the youngest team throughout all the leagues squad-wise. You saw what they are about today, they are so together and don’t know when they’re beaten.”
Derby had won eight of their previous nine league games but head coach Paul Warne said: “I was pretty proud of the lads really, they gave everything they could physically.
“Peterborough’s front line was an absolute menace, I knew they’d be excellent and I know we took an early lead but then we didn’t touch it for about 10 minutes.
“It was end to end, a bit of a basketball match at times in the second half, we might have scored on the counter a couple of times and then to throw away a point that late on is obviously difficult to take.”
Al-Nassr 1-1 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic scores last-gasp penalty
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a penalty in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time as Al-Hilal denied Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr victory in a 1-1 draw.
Mitrovic netted his 27th Saudi Pro League goal of the campaign after Sadio Mane was harshly judged to have fouled Saud Abdulhamid in the area.
Mane stuck out an arm to shield the ball, catching his opponent in the throat, though the contact appeared to have been outside of the box.
Mitrovic made no mistake to keep Al-Hilal's unbeaten campaign going.
The Serbian's spot-kick cancelled out Otavio's first-minute opener, with Ronaldo having set up his compatriot.
Champions Al-Hilal remain 12 points clear of Al-Nassr at the summit of the Pro League standings.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo the provider
Ronaldo leads the scoring charts in Saudi Arabia this season, though he had to settle for an assist on Friday.
That came from the only chance he created, with the 39-year-old limited to 25 touches, though he did have four shots.
Al-Ittihad pegged back as winless run rolls on
Mohamed Sherif scored late on as Al-Ittihad's winless run in the Saudi Pro League stretched to four games after a 1-1 draw with Al-Khaleej.
Al-Ittihad have endured a miserable title defence, and with just two games remaining, the highest the big-spending, PIF-backed club can finish is fourth.
Muhannad Al Shanqiti put them ahead on the stroke of half-time, yet despite having a further eight shots and accumulating 1.07 xG in the second half, Al-Ittihad could not add another.
Their profligacy proved costly in the 81st minute, with Egypt international Sherif snatching an equaliser for 11th-placed Al-Khaleej.
Al-Tai moved out of the relegation zone with a surprise 3-1 win over seventh-placed Al-Fateh, with Bernard Mensah scoring twice.
Al-Raed, meanwhile, claimed a 1-0 win at Al-Wehda.
Data Debrief: Kante the creator?
On the day he received a surprising France recall, N'Golo Kante created three chances for Al-Ittihad, leading the team.
On the flip side, Kante only attempted one tackle, with the midfielder showing a different side to his game, not that it proved fruitful for his team.
Ronaldo motivated to keep playing at top level
Cristiano Ronaldo has no intention of stopping as he says he is still motivated to compete with the "young lions" coming through in the game.
Ronaldo is reportedly considering signing a contract extension to keep him at Al-Nassr until June 2026, taking him past his 41st birthday.
The Portugal international has scored 42 goals in 41 appearances for the Saudi Pro League club this season, and he insists he is still motivated to keep going.
Speaking on the Whoop podcast, he said: "I feel proud to have this age and still compete at the highest level. It's great, and it gives me motivation to carry on.
"If you look at my career for the last 20 years, my level is high. If you are top for 20 years, it's unbelievable.
"I do that, and I continue to do that. For me, it's a big achievement."
Ronaldo has scored an incredible 891 goals in his career and is the all-time leading scorer in men’s international football with 128 goals.
"My biggest motivation is to carry on," he added. "It's not easy to be at this level.
"To still push, to still motivate, to carry on, to score goals, to be in good shape, to compete with the young lions that are coming and that when they play against me, they want to show me that they are stronger and faster than me.
"You have to prepare very well, not just physically but mentally, too. This is the challenge.
"Talent without work is nothing and work without talent is nothing. They have to work together at the same time. I have both. I can't say that I have more of one than the other.
"Small details will make the difference. Consistency is the most difficult thing.
"Are you willing to do that? That's the main point, because everyone wants to be Cristiano, but doing it is difficult. Discipline is the most difficult thing."
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