Saturday 4 December 2004 - London Road - kick off 3.00pm FA Cup 2nd Round

City started the game with the same side that beat Carshalton Athletic a week before and incredibly could have been two goals up within as many minutes. From the kick off Peterborough gave away possession allowing Scott Partridge to send Alex Sykes racing toward goal but keeper Tyler was alert to block at his feet and concede just a corner. Another neat passing move involving Graeme Power and Partridge finished with John Williams firing into the side netting. It was a great start for City as this immediately silenced the fickle home fans and the only noise reverberating around the ground was from the band of West Country supporters housed in the Main Stand. Clearly, City were not going to be able to keep up this start but, apart from a 5th minute Willock header that he should have got on target, they comfortably dealt with their high-flying opponents in the opening stages. On the attack again Sykes had a shot deflected behind for another corner and Jimmy Benefield shot straight at Tyler. When the Posh did finally threaten it was from a City mistake. The otherwise excellent Steve Jones’ header never looked like reaching Perrin but although Clarke lifted it toward goal in the following scramble the referee adjudged Willock had fouled Jones. Just past the mid-point of the half a quick throw by Partridge sent Williams running clear. As he was about to shoot St Ledger got back to deny City’s top scorer. The game then settled into a quiet period with City content to absorb United’s limited efforts and it took a change in tactics for them to finally begin to look likely to make the difference in levels apparent. Farrell switched from right to left and he won a free-kick that was only cleared by a great header from Jim Rollo. He then centred for Clarke to bring the first real save out of Perrin. Under pressure for the first time in the match City’s resistance finally broke on 36 minutes. Farrell began the move that saw Clarke flick the ball onto Boucaud. He was in acres of space, although this seemed to be because Power had been impeded in his attempt to close the midfielder down. He made the most of this room by taking his time and picking out Willock who made no mistake from eight yards out. Perrin denied Newton moments later, saving with his legs, but four minutes before the interval Peterborough struck for a vital second time. Again the goal was not without controversy. A Farrell corner was only half cleared by Sykes and when Legg hooked it back into the danger area it was flicked on by Burton. Suddenly Willock was unmarked 10 yards out and with everyone in the ground waiting for an offside flag he buried a header into the net. The flag never came. Understandably incensed by the decision - Perrin was booked for his protests - but City almost pulled a goal back before the break, Williams just failing to get on the end of a driven Partridge cross.

So, two goals down against a side four divisions above them City must have feared the worst as the second half started but the expected onslaught never arrived. Within a couple of minutes of the restart Sykes should have done better than shoot straight at Tyler and, although Willock wasted a great chance to complete his hat-trick moments later, this set the trend for the rest of the half, with City never allowing Peterborough to settle on their advantage. Another chance fell to Sykes on 58 minutes, Rollo’s deep cross picking him out but again his volley was too close to Tyler. The home side made two changes in quick succession just after the hour mark but it was still City who looked the likelier to add to the scoring. Partridge forced another smart save out of the overworked Tyler after a burst forward by Power. Their best chance arrived after 70 minutes when Partridge squared the ball to an unmarked Williams only for his shot to fly high and wide. Another flowing move sliced through the host’s defence three minutes later when Sykes’ pass freed Partridge and his cross just eluded the inrushing Williams. City replaced Benefield with Reinier Moor on 75 minutes but by then they were understandably tiring and the chances began to dry up. Even though the game was effectively over they still easily prevented Peterborough adding to their tally during the closing moments and fittingly the final chance of the game fell to City with Sam Bailey heading Sykes’ corner straight at Tyler. The final whistle saw the City players receive a justifiable ovation from their supporters, plus a fair number of the home fans, after their heroic performance, but there was a slight feeling that with a little bit of luck it could have been so much better.