Simon Grayson paid tribute to his Fleetwood players despite being bitterly disappointed to lose 1-0 at home to Peterborough.

Fleetwood spurned several decent chances and it was Posh striker Jonson Clarke-Harris who snatched victory with three minutes left.

The defeat leaves the Cod Army stranded in mid-table and boss Grayson frustrated but proud of his players’ efforts against the side second in Sky Bet League One.

“I thought we did a lot of good things, to be fair,” he said. “We competed against a strong team that are at the top end of the division, we kept them quiet and Alex (Cairns) really only had one save to make.

“When you look at our chances, we’ve hit the bar, we had some other close shaves. We were quite happy with how we played and how we created chances but when you concede so late on it’s obviously frustrating, I don’t think we deserved that.

“We wanted to keep going because we wanted to try to get towards the play-offs.

“I think we competed really well against a strong team. People like Jonson Clarke-Harris and Sam Szmodics are a real handful and we contained them really well.

“We are just slightly disappointed that at the top end of the pitch we weren’t as ruthless as we might have been. That’s not just the strikers, it’s the final pass or the final shot or our decision making. These are just small points we want to improve on week in, week out.

“But if you ask me if I’m happy with the players’ attitude and application then I certainly was because we did everything apart from put the ball in the back of the net.”

Ged Garner and Wes Burns blew Fleetwood’s golden chances at the end of the first half and, after Sam Finlay forced a fine save from Posh keeper Christy Pym, Danny Andrew hit the bar for the hosts in the second period.

Despite his disappointment, Grayson took some solace in the good moments his side put together, adding: “We had two free-kicks from the same position as the one they scored from.

“One of ours went past the post and the other hit the wall so it’s these fine margins in football. There will be other occasions where we’ve played not as well as today and won the match, that’s just how it goes sometimes.

“Have my players given everything, have they worked hard and carried out the instructions that I’ve asked them to do? Yes, there will be a lot of boxes ticked today but unfortunately we’ve got nothing out of a game we deserved something from.”

His opposite number, Posh boss Darren Ferguson, was under no illusions that his team passed an important and difficult test at Highbury, insisting: “It is a big win for us, a late goal and that can often be the best time to score as there is no time for the opponent to come back at us.

“I fancied Jonno (Clarke-Harris) when the free-kick was given. It was a great strike and it is another clean sheet and they are going to be so important, they really are.

“It is another win away from home, it is a much-needed away win and I thought it was a game that we started both halves really well in.

“Towards the end of the first half we petered out a little. We just needed to up it and we would go on and win it and so it proved.

“We made the changes. Jack (Taylor) was outstanding when he came on. Siriki (Dembele) gives you that unpredictability going the other way and he got into a couple of really good positions.

“I named the same side because we were so good in the win over Accrington. I knew I had good options from the bench to change it if we needed to.

“We can now look forward to a big game on Monday against Sunderland, live on the TV at home, it is just a shame there are no fans to see it in the stadium. That game won’t define our season, there are still a lot of points to play for.”