Peterborough manager Darren Ferguson feels his side are hitting top form again as the race for promotion in Sky Bet League One intensifies after they hammered rivals Northampton 5-1 in the Nene derby.

This was the Posh’s third league win in a row which moved them to within five points of second-placed Bolton, with their current run coming after four straight defeats threatened to derail their push.

Ferguson said: “We had a blip and they’re a young group – if we had gone through the season without a blip, I would have been surprised.

“When you go through bad times in the season, you have to make sure you’re strong enough to go back and improve when you’ve made mistakes, failures and losses because they’re the ones that define the season.

“We had to make sure we got over that and there’s no question the Blackpool game (in the semi-finals of the Bristol Street Motors Trophy) to get to Wembley has really been a huge shift in momentum.

“But then to win three league games, two of them derbies, is a credit to my players.

“It was all-round a very good performance.

“I thought each member of the team and the subs, it was all-round a very confident performance, and it was a very good result.”

Northampton led after nine minutes when Marc Leonard’s cross was headed in by Jon Guthrie, but Peterborough never looked back after Ephron Mason-Clarks’ 25th-minute equaliser from Jaden Katongo’s low ball across.

Kwame Poku’s whipped finish completed the turnaround three minutes later before Joel Randall poked in a third for the Posh after Poku’s mishit ran off Jack Sowerby.

Hector Kyprianou’s header just before the hour effectively made the game safe, with Josh Knight completing the rout five minutes later after Randall’s corner wasn’t cleared.

Northampton boss Jon Brady said: “We’ve got to hold our hands up and that’s a tough night that’s tough to take against your local rivals, but hats off to them, I thought they were excellent.

“I thought the goals we gave away were very soft tonight.

“We started off, we got the goal then conceded two pretty quick goals and it wasn’t good enough thereafter.

“I’m not going to paper over any cracks and we’ve got to hold our hands up, we’ve got to defend better and be more solid in those moments – defensively we weren’t good enough.

“We’ve got to defend those goals so much better and we’ve got to make sure we get it right for Saturday (at Cambridge) and bounce back.

“We were very good earlier on in the season when we beat them at home 1-0, and today we had a bad night and we’ve got to make sure we get it right on Saturday.”

Darren Ferguson challenged his Peterborough side to show more conviction as they need to “ride out the storm” having fallen to another damaging defeat.

Blackpool grabbed all three points thanks to a second-half comeback started by a Shayne Lavery penalty and completed in stoppage time by a deflected Karamoko Dembele strike.

Hector Kyprianou had given Posh the lead after 38 minutes with a near-post header from a Harrison Burrows corner but Posh fell to a fourth consecutive defeat.

“The decision-making in both boxes is not good enough,” said Ferguson.

“It’s a disappointment to lose another game and in the manner we lost it.

“We were in complete control until the goal, totally dominant in the first half but missed too many chances again and their equaliser changed the game.

“We had started the second half really well. We lost conviction and belief after that and started doing things we’d never normally do. We lost all composure for 10 or 15 minutes and didn’t create much at 1-1. They got on top of us.

“We’ve got to ride the storm now, stick together and try and get that belief and conviction back into the squad.

“The penalty incident was certainly right on the edge, it was a bad decision from Jed (Steer). That’s always the key to winning and losing.

“The finishing is not good enough, we’ve had three one-on-ones today, it’s just not good enough and we’re losing poor goals. The second one you can’t do much about but the first is a poor, poor decision.”

Blackpool boss Neil Critchley hailed his side as deserved winners, even if he was disappointed to concede another set-piece goal.

He said: “It was a terrific game, we were excellent. We got what we deserved.

“There wasn’t a lot in the first half, their best opportunities came from us giving the ball away.

“I’m really disappointed with the goal, we’ve shown a vulnerability at set-pieces recently. We wobbled a bit after that but the response in the second half was outstanding.

“We showed real character to come from behind and create the opportunities we did at a really tough place to come against a really good team.

“Kyle Joseph committing himself to get in there for the penalty epitomises the second-half performance. We were much more on the front foot, getting to the ball first and being much more aggressive.

“Him and Shayne were a real handful in the second half, really relentless with their running and work ethic.

“Shayne was the first to put his hand up when we were practising penalties in training yesterday so I was not surprised when he tucked it away very well.”

Peterborough boss Darren Ferguson praised his side’s belief after goals from Hector Kyprianou, Jonson Clarke-Harris and Kwame Poku saw them come from behind to win 3-1 at Barnsley.

The home side took the lead through Barry Cotter six minutes after the break before Kyprianou equalised with 16 minutes remaining.

Clarke-Harris struck two minutes later and Poku added a third five minutes from time.

Ferguson said: “From the moment we went behind, I thought we were absolutely outstanding.

“It was a really good game and a good advert for the league. Two really good teams.

“I thought that both teams had moments in the first half. Nick (Bilokapic)’s made a couple of good saves and we’ve probably had the more clear-cut chances.

“I told the players at half-time that we had to be more ruthless.

“We lost a soft goal but the reaction to losing the goal was outstanding.

“Even if we’d lost tonight, with that performance, I wouldn’t have been disappointed.

“I wouldn’t have been as happy but I would have been delighted with the way the players responded after going behind.

“As a manager, I was delighted with the belief that they kept thinking they would get something out of the game and that’s what we did.

“We just kept going and we were relentless. The first goal was fantastic. It was really, really good play and a great finish.

“Then we just stepped on the gas a little bit and managed to win the game.

“Absolutely delighted with the performance of the players. A young team with real belief.

“If you’re going to be successful, you have to come to Barnsley on Tuesday nights and get results and we’ve managed to do that.

“I’m delighted with the amount of chances we created and overall I’m delighted. No-one’s getting carried away – it’s a good start but it’s just a start.”

Barnsley head coach Neill Collins was disappointed to see his side lose their grip on the game after going ahead.

He said: “That will take a little bit of digesting. For everything that we did well for the first 55 minutes, I thought we then proceeded to do the opposite almost.

“Up until that point, the team had been fantastic, both sides of the ball, against a very good side.

“I thought we deservedly took the lead and should probably have been ahead at half-time.

“We came out and felt confident that we could get that goal, but then I’m not quite sure why we then proceeded to lose the cohesion that we had and stopped doing the things that we’d done so well.

“I felt that we just became sporadic and more individualistic at times. Despite a couple of warning signs and the goalkeeper in particular making one fantastic save, the goals were cardinal sins in terms of ones we gave away.”

Peterborough came from behind to win 3-1 at Barnsley with an impressive second-half performance featuring goals from Hector Kyprianou, Jonson Clarke-Harris and Kwame Poku.

Barry Cotter had put the hosts in front six minutes after the break but it only served to spark the visitors into life.

Peterborough’s Ephron Mason-Clark threatened early on, forcing Liam Roberts to make a save.

At the other end, Nicholas Bilokapic was tested by Jon Russell and Nicky Cadden.

Roberts then made another important save, thwarting Randall after he was put through by Kyprianou.

The home side took the lead when Cotter sent in a low driven cross from the right which found its way into the back of the net.

Roberts made fine saves to deny Randall, Poku and Clarke-Harris before Peterborough equalised.

After 74 minutes, Peter Kioso reached the byline and pulled the ball back to Kyprianou, who fired into the far corner of the net.

Clarke-Harris struck two minutes later, netting from close-range following Poku’s scuffed shot.

Poku added a third five minutes from time, firing into the roof of the net after creating space for himself inside the area.