How's your luck?
Cheltenham Town were reduced to ten men with only four minutes on the clock here, making an already tough assignment virtually impossible in the current circumstances. In the end they finished with nine.
There's no question that the effort is there, or the commitment to the cause, but again there was no goal and very little to cheer for the 50 or so supporters who made the trip to the Weston Homes Stadium. No getting away from it, the drought has been extended to twelve hours.
Boss Wade Elliott rang the changes – five in total – to the side that slipped to defeat in Exeter four days ago. In came Curtis Davies, Elliot Bonds, Luciano D'Auria-Henry, Aidan Keen and James Olayinka. But all the plans though went out the window in the opening exchanges.
The sending off was a harsh one to say the least. Olayinka shaped to hook the ball forward when Mason-Clark stooped and took a blow to the head, for which he required some treatment.
Regardless, the decision was a hard one to take and it handed the home side an immediate numerical advantage. Cheltenham reorganised and responded well, defending manfully and soaking up the inevitable pressure. Luke Southwood wasn't tested before the break.
At the other end it was Elliott's side who produced the best effort of the opening 45 minutes through Keena, who surged down the middle and crashed a rasping 25-yard strike against the left upright. Another if or maybe in a campaign loaded with ifs and maybes?
Peterborough's form has been indifferent this season but they started the second period with far more purpose and immediately went close. Peter Kioso tried his luck from an angle down the right but fortunately from a Cheltenham perspective, Davies' deflection shaved the woodwork.
But the breakthrough came nine minutes after the restart when Kwame Poku's low crosss from the right reached Harrison Burrows, who made no mistake from six yards.
They sealed the victory on the hour, Burrows sending in the corner and Jonson Clarke-Harris heading home – one of the easiest goals he's likely to get this campaign.
Nathan Butler-Oyedeji's late dismissal and Peter Kioso's added time third simply compounded the misery.
PETERBOROUGH UNITED: Bilokapic; Kioso, Knight, Edwards; Poku (Wakeling 78), Kyprianou, Mason-Clark, Collins, Burrows; Randall (Sturge 70), Clarke-Harris. Subs not used: Talley (Gk), Katongo, Crichlow, De Havilland, Jones.
CHELTENHAM TOWN (3-5-2): Southwood; Long (c), Davies, Bevan; D'Auria-Henry (Hammond 62), Sercombe, Bonds, Olayinka, Ferry; Keena (Butler-Oyedeji 76), Malcolm (Street 62). Subs not used: Harris (Gk), B Williams, Bradbury, Chapman.
REFEREE: S Oldham.
