Wolves win, Forest tame Tigers

Wolves win, Forest tame Tigers

Published Mar. 16, 2013 3:16 p.m. ET

Kane Ferdinand headed his first goal for Peterborough as Darren Ferguson's men maintained momentum in their Championship survival bid with a 1-0 win over Blackpool.

Posh are now unbeaten in five matches - a well-timed purple patch as a number of their fellow strugglers also continue to pick up vital points.

They lie one point from safety and just four points behind Blackpool, who could not build on their first win under Paul Ince at Watford last weekend.

Pool dominated a first half overshadowed by a serious head injury sustained by their veteran midfielder Barry Ferguson, but Ferdinand put United ahead with a simple finish in the 45th minute.

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Blackpool winger Matt Phillips drew a sharp early save from Posh goalkeeper Bobby Olejnik, firing a hard shot into the ground from an acute angle.

It was a bright start from the hosts and Tom Ince was just short of finding a decisive touch when Alex Baptiste flashed across goal in the ninth minute.

Pool top scorer Ince then dragged wide under pressure from United centre-back Michael Bostwick having been played in by a beautifully weighted Phillips pass.

Lee Tomlin had Peterborough's first attempt but Seasiders defender Gary MacKenzie bravely got his face in the way of a powerfully struck effort.

Olejnik produced two more splendid stops as Ludovic Sylvestre and Phillips went for the spectacular before Peterborough took the lead against the run of play.

Jack Payne chipped towards Tommy Rowe in the area, whose header back across goal was nodded home by Ferdinand.

Blackpool could not respond during nine minutes of first-half stoppage time and Peterborough assumed the ascendancy following a quiet start to the second period.

In the 67th minute, Tomlin eased past a tired challenge from Isaiah Osbourne to shoot but Matt Gilks saved well with his legs.

Pool belatedly piled on the pressure and, with nine minutes to play, Phillips picked up a loose ball only to see his goal-bound effort strike Nathan Delfouneso.

Kevin Doyle's first goal in 16 appearances proving to be the difference for Dean Saunders' struggling Wolves side.

The Robins remain stranded at the bottom of the table after failing to hold onto a lead that was gifted to them in the first half.

David Davis' 25-yard back pass managed to squirm under the boot of goalkeeper Carl Ikeme to give the visitors the lead but second-half strikes from Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Doyle kept Wolves off the foot of the table.

A win for fellow strugglers Peterborough at Blackpool means Wolves stay 23rd but are now just a point from safety.

Kane Ferdinand's header in first-half stoppage time was enough for Posh to win at Bloomfield Road and remain above Wolves by virtue of goals scored.

Leaders Cardiff secured a routine win at lowly Sheffield Wednesday to open up a seven-point lead at the top of the Championship.

Don Cowie struck just before half-time with a Matthew Connolly sealing the win for Malky Mackay's side.

Second-placed Hull lost ground on Cardiff after throwing away a lead at home to in-form Nottingham Forest.

George Boyd, who looked set to move to Forest in January before the club cancelled the deal due to a failed eye test, put Steve Bruce's Tigers ahead but Darius Henderson equalised before Lewis McGugan secured Forest's sixth straight win with six minutes remaining.

Watford could not capitalise on Hull's loss thanks to a first half Bobby Hassell header for Barnsley, with the 1-0 win moving the Tykes up to 20th.

Bolton's five-match winning streak was ended by Mick McCarthy's Ipswich with Carlos Edwards' 88th minute goal enough for the Tractor Boys to take all three points.

Huddersfield were successful in the West Yorkshire derby with on-loan striker James Vaughan netting a late winner in a 2-1 victory at Leeds United.

Neil Danns had given the visitors the lead before Aidy White levelled with a header after coming off the bench.

Leeds could not hold on for the point with Vaughan scoring four minutes from the end.

Nikola Zigic scored the only goal of the game as Birmingham won at Middlesbrough whilst FA Cup semi-finalists Millwall won 2-0 at Charlton earlier in the day, with Shane Lowry grabbing a second after Jermaine Easter had opened the scoring with his first touch since joining the Lions.

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