Ferguson Expresses Confusion Over Disallowed ‘Invisible Goal’

Peterborough United’s manager, Darren Ferguson, expressed his confusion following the disallowance of what he termed an “invisible goal” during his team’s FA Cup first-round victory over Newport County. With Posh trailing 2-1, a corner kick taken by Jack Sparkes inexplicably entered the net at the near post, deflecting off Newport’s Cameron Evans’ head. The match official ultimately signaled for a subsequent corner, though this event did not negatively impact Posh, who secured a 4-2 victory after initially falling behind 2-0 within the first seven minutes of play. Ferguson stated to BBC Radio Cambridgeshire: “It’s a goal, the footage showed that clearly. It was a bit surreal. Everyone sort of stopped as if someone had pressed the pause button. Then we started celebrating.” He continued, “I don’t think the ref knew what to do. The linesman didn’t help him and he’s made a human error. I think he said it’s gone in the side of the net, but it’s clearly a goal.” Ferguson added, “If we’d lost 2-1 it would have been talked about a lot more but I wouldn’t have used it as an excuse – we’d have lost the game for the way we defended for the first few minutes.” Peterborough presently occupies the 13th position in League One, yet their total of 26 goals conceded represents the highest figure in the league. Furthermore, they quickly fell behind at Rodney Parade after Anthony Glennon and Kai Whitmore scored to give Newport the lead. Ferguson remarked, “I’d hate to be a goalkeeper in this team at the moment.” He elaborated, “But one thing I know we’ve got is goals and we’re just going to have to outscore teams, as simple as that. Until we find a way of getting far better concentration [at the back] in games, that’s the way it’s going to be” Ultimately, goals from Abraham Odoh, Joel Randall, and a brace from Ricky-Jade Jones secured Posh a second-round fixture against fellow League Two club, Notts County. Prior to that match, they are scheduled for an EFL Trophy encounter against Crystal Palace Under-21 on Tuesday, followed by the season’s initial county derby versus Cambridge United at the Weston Homes Stadium on Saturday. Odoh’s scoring effort marked his inaugural goal since his transfer to Peterborough from Harrogate Town during the summer, and he commented: “Obviously, we started the game off slow, but we know what we can produce up top, in attack.” He added, “It’s always nice to contribute and I feel like I’ve helped the team get that win.”