Peterborough United 3 Exeter City 0.
5 March 2011.

On the road with Kirstie Bowden 

I kick-off this afternoon with some good (and somewhat belated) news. My Stanno flag is back in my possession! Its journey back to me was rather complicated but I'll summarise as best I can 

At the end of the game at Charlton to "ease congestion" the stewards took it down, rolled it up and then inexplicably offered it out for the taking.

A young group of Dagenham fans obligedThey unfurled it on their way home and, knowing about Adam, realised that they had made a very serious error of judgement.

They responded to a Club plea for its return on Facebook and the day after I got back from Carlisle headed up to London to collect it

I wasn't convinced they'd turn up so when received a text to say they'd be late as one of the group had, and I quote, "just been nicked at Liverpool Street" I was resigned to defeat.

When they did arrive was totally elatedThey seemed genuinely remorseful and couldn't stop apologising. To them bear no malice, they did the right thing in the end.

And so to Peterborough. After the obligatory watching the team bus arrive we parted with a bank breaking £25 and took our seats in the away area.

At Carlisle Tiz had come into the stand to greet us all. Here the Peterborough mascota white rabbit named Peter Burrow (!), did the meet and greet, shaking everyone's hand and even patting Grecian the Lion on the head

It was certainly a sight won't ever forgetMarge even received a hug, a moment she later declared her highlight of the day!

As kick-off approached, in reference of their nickname 'The Posh, a man in top hat and tails walked across the pitch. A minutes silence was held in memory of Dean Richards which was impeccably observed.

The early signs were looking goodCity were playing wellThen in the 10th minute, Conference blast from the past George Boyd scoredFrom that point onwards we were chasing after a team that was always two steps ahead of us.

Despite this City did well to stifle the successive Peterborough chances that followed and early on in the second half it looked like we might get back into the game. Their second goal in the 74th minute ended such hope. As if being 2-0 down miles from home sat in the freezing cold wasn't punishment enoughin front of me sat a Peterborough fan who was guffawing at length about how her favourite player had scored.

Thankfully she had gone to the toilet when Peterborough really stuck the knife in with their third goal.

Despite their vast lead there was not a whimper from the home fans. It  was baffling - with Peterborough real promotion contenders and playing some

simply stunning football they had everything to shout aboutNeedless to say if the boot was on the other foot I would have been leading a conga around the ground!

Back on the bus Marge was more disappointed than mostRegular readers will know that she makes teas and coffees on route in aid of Hospiscare.

Wellon this trip the facilities were not workingOur driver Tim attempted to mend them whilst we were watching the match, but was unsuccessful.

After about 4 hours of people intermittently asking her for a coffee Marge finally cracked and shouted "if anyone else says coffee I'm going to scream". Cue 20 people shouting coffee and Marge screaming!

Soon enough (or not in Marges case) we were back in ExeterIt had been a difficult day, but an enjoyable one nonetheless.

Referee Michael Naylor

Attendance  6174 with 357 City fans.

BBC match summary and information 

George Boyd scored twice to help Peterborough to a comfortable win against Exeter. Boyd put the home side ahead when his 20-yard drive took a deflection off Richard Duffy and went in. Craig Mackail-Smith went on a fantastic run and selflessly pulled the ball back for Boyd, who slotted in from close range to double the lead. Boyd then turned provider when he squared the ball to Mackail-Smith, who slotted in to seal the win late on.

Peterborough United manager Darren Ferguson told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire:

"If you win any game 3-0 then you've got to be happy and it was a solid, disciplined and professional performance. "It's something that's been severely lacking from us this season, on a consistent basis at least, so I'm delighted. "If we can get clean sheets then we've got a chance and now it's two on the bounce."

Exeter City manager Paul Tisdale told BBC Radio Devon:
"I suppose the crux of the issue today was that they scored an early goal.  "I can find very little fault with the way that we played against a very good team, a very attacking team, who were very potent around the last third. "There's no shame in our performance - we did a very good job although the scoreline doesn't suggest it."