Kane Ferdinand the match winner as Posh beat Blackpool at Bloomfield Road.

Republic of Ireland under 21 international Kane Ferdinand scored his first goal for Peterborough United as Darren Ferguson's men produced a battling display to earn a priceless 1-0 victory against Blackpool at Bloomfield Road.

Ferdinand converted from close range after an intelligent header across the box from Tommy Rowd on the 45 minute mark, but an injury to Barry Ferguson, which saw him stretchered off with a suspected fractured cheekbone, produced nine minutes of first half injury time.

Goalkeeper Bobby Olejnik was the busier of the two shot-stoppers in the first period, tipping over from Sylvestre, parrying from Phillips and keeping Ince at bay. Dwight Gayle was denied by Gilks while Tomlin saw a toe poke kept out by the legs of the Seasiders goalkeeper.

Posh got the breakthrough when FERDINAND converted a Rowe header from Payne's back post delivery just before the break. Posh lost the services of Michael Bostwick due to a hamstring injury, but replacement Shaun Brisley helped the Posh back line keep a deserved clean sheet.

Gayle shot straight at the keeper in the second half, while Mendez-laing showed great pace to provide a half chance for Newell, who fired wide.

Posh boss Darren Ferguson said afterwards: "It was a good battling win and my lads were tremendous. I have a lot of character in that dressing room. That win brings a lot of other teams into it. A point would not have been enough given the other results today, but we can only look after our own results.'

Final Score: Blackpool 0-1 Posh

Posh: Olejnik, Little, Rowe, Bostwick (sub Brisley 73), Zakuani, Knight-Percival (sub Brisley 70 ) Payne, Ferdinand, Tomlim, Gayle, Barnett (sub Mendez-laing 63). Unused subs: Day, Alcock, Swanson, McCann.

Attendance: 13,037 (475 Posh fans)