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Posh 4, Liverpool 1 - Mclean's magic does the trick
Hot-shot Aaron scores one and makes one as United turn on the style to crush Liverpool youngsters in London Road friendly.
Hot-shot Aaron scores one and makes one as United turn on the style to crush Liverpool youngsters in London Road friendly.Normal service has well and truly been resumed.
Plenty of Posh fans probably doubted they would ever see striking hero Aaron Mclean pull on a blue shirt again during some stormy summer weeks.
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Match stats:
Goals:
Posh – Mclean (40mins), Potter (45mins), Lee (73mins), Rendell (87mins).
Liverpool – Bruna (61mins).
Referee: Darren Deadman (Cambs).
Attendance: 2,295.
Teams:
Posh: Lewis (McKeown), Whelpdale (Reed 90), Morgan (Gourlay 90), West-
wood (Charnock 59), Williams (Blackett 59), Potter, Hyde (Keates 59), Coutts (Lee 59), Boyd, Mclean (Rendell 59), Mackail-Smith.
Liverpool XI: Oldfield (Duyan 46), Kelly (Ode) 77, Antwi, Kelemen (Huth 46), Mackay-Steven, Crowther (Poloskei 46), Flynn, Irwin, Bruna (Kacaniklic 65), Eccleston (Brouwer 46), Lindfield. Unused: Ode.
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Mclean's desire to swap London Road for Wolves, an unexpected transfer request and some scathing opinion from key Posh figures hardly made for happy reading in the months since he fired the club to promotion last season.
But those wishes have now been consigned to the past and both the presence and performance of the 33-goal hitman - 24 hours after agreeing a new four-year Posh contract - made this low-key Saturday afternoon seem very worthwhile.
Mclean produced a typically effective display, notching the opening goal and creating the second as the Anfield unknowns were swept aside with a fair amount of style.
With not so much as a recognised name in the Liverpool ranks, the absence of both Posh's summer signings provided a dampener on proceedings for a hardy 2,295 who parted with 20 sheets to watch this spectacle.
But seeing Mclean find the net with a smart 40th minute finish to lay the foundations for a convincing win was ample compensation for most.
"There were parts of the performance that pleased me immensely but others we still need to work on," said Ferguson.
"The main thing for me was the victory because winning breeds confidence.
"It is a good habit to get into and we want to win every game regardless of whether it is a friendly or not.
"And this was a decent result because Liverpool have a lot of good young players who Gary Ablett has got playing the right way."
Russell Martin and Sergio Torres, who have wandered this way from Wycombe during the close season, were out with a slight ankle knock and the after-effects of a foot operation respectively.
Those two men would appear the likeliest combination on the right-hand side for Posh this season, but the players who occupied the roles in this game both caught the eye.
Chris Whelpdale was very assured at right-back while tiny terror Alfie Potter left his mark on Liverpool again.
Unlocking the Reds defence is nothing new to this teenager, although there was a hell of a lot less significance and considerably less people watching than when he became a Havant hero by netting at Anfield in the FA Cup last season.
The most surprising inclusion in the Posh starting line-up was traillist Paul Coutts – a young Scottish midfielder bidding to make a name for himself in this neck of the woods.
The reigning Highland League player-of-the-year from Cove Rangers showed the odd glimpse of quality during his first-half outing and will have another chance to impress at Stevenage tomorrow night.
Coutts unleashed a couple of thunderous attempts on goal, working Liverpool stopper Craig Oldfield for the first time after only three minutes.
And he was at it again just after the half-hour with a long-range blast that formed the first part of a cracking double save from Oldfield who then blocked the rebound bravely at the feet of Mclean.
He was eventually beaten five minutes before the break when Mclean swept home a Potter cut-back after Micah Hyde had taken a quick free-kick on the right and another Posh goal swiftly followed as the roles were reversed.
This time Mclean threaded the ball through for Potter to collect and prod calmly past the on-rushing Oldfield on the stroke of the interval.
Posh keeper Joe Lewis (who had been required to make only one save from David Kelemen) was given the second half off, but deputy James McKeown found himself picking the ball out of his net on the hour.
Moments after a Craig Linfield blockbuster had smashed back off the bar, young Spaniard Gerardo Bruna found the bottom corner with a sweet 20-yard strike.
Potter may well have had a second goal if managing to control a Mackail-Smith cut-back just as the heavens opened midway through the second half, but Posh didn't have to wait too long to add to their account.
Substitute midfielders Dean Keates and Charlie Lee teamed up for a third goal on 73 minutes – the former whipping in the corner and the latter rising to powerfully head home.
And the icing was then applied to this friendly cake when Shane Blackett was allowed to charge forward on the left and deliver for Scott Rendell to tidily tuck away from close range.
"We scored good goals," added Ferguson. "The last one in particular was excellent and it was nice to get a win on the board."
Related: Aaron Mclean is back to his best
Scottish ace Coutts is desperate for a chance at Posh
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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