Peterborough United collapse to Birmingham defeat from two goals up but left to rue bad fortune and poor decisions

It was not an unexpected result but nevertheless defeat at a Birmingham side who spent over £33m in the summer still left a bitter taste in the mouth.

An explosive start from Posh, which saw them race in to a two-goal lead with goals from Ricky-Jade Jones and Emmanuel Fernandez, was eroded by a first half strike from Willum Willumsson and a second half which saw Posh’s luck well and truly out.

First, a shot heading into the stands deflected back off Oscar Wallin and into the net before the winner was scored by returning Blues captain Krystian Bielik with the considerable help of his left elbow, which went unspotted by the officials.

Posh showed a much-improved effort from the side who were fortunate to leave East London but saw a two-goal lead evaporate for a second consecutive trip to St Andrews’s although on that night in the Championship two years ago, they were at least able to hold on for a draw.

The defeat, which started so well, saw Posh tumble down the table to 12th.

Darren Ferguson made just the one change from the team that started the draw against Leyton Orient, bringing in Donay O’Brien-Brady in place of David Ajiboye and reverting back to the 4-2-3-1 system, with Jadel Katongo reprising his role as a right back from last season.

Posh got off to the perfect start and Jones could hardly believe his luck as Bailey Peacock-Farrell dawdled in collecting a backpass on his goalline and found himself pounced upon by Jones who slid his attempted clearance into the net after just four minutes.

Things got even better for Posh after 16 minutes when Fernandez was left all alone in the six-yard box to power a Jadel Katongo corner into the back of the net.

With Posh in dreamland, Birmingham did come back at them and almost had one back but Jack Sparkes scrambled back to his line to deny Dykes’s header on the line after Emil Hansson has beaten Katongo for pace.

They wouldn’t have to wait until the another four minutes for the breakthrough though and again it came from the right side, this time Hansson put the ball on a plate for Willum Willumsson, who had gotten away from his marker, to slam home from close range.

Posh almost made it 3-1 when Donay O-Brien-Brady robbed Tomoki Iwata in the final third and sent Jones in one-on-one. His shot from a tight angle on the left was saved but Jones ended up in the advertising hoardings and did not move freely for the rest of the half.

This would have come as a relief for Peacock-Farrell, who looked like a rabbit in the headlights every time the ball ended up at his feet but it did blunt Posh’s attacking threat as the hosts took control of the game.

Posh manged to get into the break ahead but were pegged back after 49 minutes in extremely unfortunate circumstances. Posh were down to ten men owing to a Katongo injury, Birmingham attacked down the vacant right side, found Jay Stansfield, who unleashed a shot going out for a throw-in only for it to bounce off Oscar Wallin and loop agonisingly into the net.

Just as Posh had begun to get a foothold in the game after being pegged back, fate once again struck Posh a cruel blow as Tomoki Iwata’s cross from a short corner was bundled in via the ark of Krystian Bielik which went unspotted by the officials and any of the Posh players on the field too.

Chances came and went for Stansfield and Willumsson to extend the lead but Posh rarely threatened to get back on level terms.

Posh: Jed Steer, Jack Sparkes (sub Sam Curtis 74 mins), Oscar Wallin, Emmanuel Fernandez, Jadel Katongo (sub James Dornelly 49 mins), Hector Kypranou, Archie Collins, Donay O’Brien-Brady (sub David Ajiboye 79 mins), Kwame Poku, Ricky-Jade Jones (sub Abraham Odoh 79 mins), Malik Mothersille

Not used: Nicholas Bilokapic, George Nevett, Cian Hayes.

Birmingham: Bailey Peacock-Farrell, Taylor Gardner-Hickman (sub Alfons Sampsted 79 mins), Christoph Klarer, Krystian Bielik, Alexander Cochrane, Seung-Ho Paik (sub Marc Leonard 88 mins), Tomoki Iwata, Willum Thor Willumsson, Jay Stansfield (sub Alfie May 78 mins), Emil Hansson (sub Jacob Wright 46 mins), Lyndon Dykes (sub Keshi Anderson 46 mins)

Subs: Ryan Allsop, Alfons Sampsted, Ben Davies, Alfie May

GOALS: Posh – Jones (4 mins), Fernandez (16 mins)

Birmingham – Wilumsson (24 mins), Wallin og (49 mins), Bielik (66 mins)

CAUTIONS: Posh – Fernandez (timewasting), Sparkes (foul), Kyprianou (foul)

Birmingham – Dykes (foul), Davies (dissent), Stansfield (foul), Leonard (foul)

REFEREE: Thomas Kirk 6.

ATTENDANCE: 27,206 (2,117 Posh),