A strange old night at London Road as Peterborough United completed a quickfire double over Stevenage
Peterborough United emerged victorious for the second time in a handful of days against Stevenage after a strange old night at the Weston Homes Stadium.
A first clean sheet of the season was surprising enough, but the fact it arrived after a game that kicked off at 7pm and didn’t finish until 9.40 was most unusual.
There was a rain delay of 38 minutes midway through the second-half to the frustration of Posh who were 2-0 ahead and cruising. Thankfully, after some fine work from the groundstaff and several inspections, the game re-started and a second win in the EFL Trophy for the competition holders was completed. It finished 2-0.
Malik Mothersille’s 11th-minute header and a fine finish from Jack Sparkes – his first goal for the club – on 43 minutes were the statistical highlights. The best performance in a Posh shirt by Sparkes, the continued improvement in the all-round game of Emmanuel Fernandez, some safe goalkeeping from Nicholas Bilokapic and first-team debuts as second-half substitutes for teenagers Tyler Young and David Kamara were also welcome sights.
Posh made six changes to their starting line-up for their second meeting in a handful of days with League One rivals Stevenage. The visitors made eight changes, four of them enforced.
The five surviving Posh starters from the 2-1 League One on Saturday were Sparkes, Fernandez, Donay O’Brien-Brady, Cian Hayes and Mothersille.
For most of the first-half the multiple changes appeared to bother Posh more than their visitors. Bilokapic scampered across his goal to keep out a 20-yard toe poke from NIck Freeman and then the Aussie number one thwarted Jake Young after he’d escaped behind the Posh back four.
But it was Posh who struck first in the 12th minute after Abraham Odoh had won a free kick on the left. Sparkes took it, a Stevenage defender obligingly flicked it on and Mothersille finished with his head.
Posh were very sloppy in possession though and not particularly aggressive when Stevenage had the ball, the two problems manager Darren Ferguson identified after Saturday’s meeting.
Tyreece Campbell saw a snap shot well handled by Bilokapic and somehow the visitors didn’t equalise from a left wing cross that fell at the feet of Kane Smith six yards from goal. It was a sitter, but George Nevett slid across to make a fine block.
Posh did start threatening on the counter attack as the half wore on and Odoh saw a shot deflected over the bar after accepting a Joel Randall pass.
And then the best Posh move of the half led to a second goal two minutes before the break. Donay O’Brien-Brady fed Mothersille who laid the ball off to Randall who sent it forward first time to Odoh. The winger saw Sparkes on the overlap and fed the perfect pass which the left-back despatched with aplomb.
The rain became more a threat to Posh than Stevenage for the first 20 minutes of the second-half and the players were eventually taken off when the ball was struggling to travel over a saturated surface.
Before the break in play Posh almost added a third goal after a terrific move as Fernandez freed Mothersille and his perfect cross found a sliding Randall at the back post. Randall made a good contact, but Carl PIergianni was in hand to make a fine block.
Bilokapic saw a kick charged down by Simpson, but the ball flew wide before Posh cruised through the rest of the game. Posh were untroubled defensively as that deserved clean sheet was achieved and there was time to be impressed by Young’s grit and skill as well as Kamara’s strength.
Posh: Nicholas Bilokapic, James Dornelly, Jack Sparkes, Emmanuel Fernandez, George Nevett, Ryan De Havilland (sub Tyler Young, 65 mins), Donay O’Brien-Brady (sub Archie Collins, 46 mins), Joel Randall (sub Ollie Rose, 90 + 4 mins), Cian Hayes (sub David Ajiboye, 65 mins), Malik Mothersille, Abraham Odoh (sub David Kamara, 65 mins).
Unused substitutes: Will Blackmore, Kwame Poku.
Stevenage: Taye Ashby-Hammond, Dan Butler, Lewis Freestone, Carl Piergianni, Nick Freeman, Kane Smith (sub Ryan Doherty, 90 mins), Dan Kemp, Harvey White, Tyreece Simpson (sub Makise Evans, 90 + 13 mins), Ken Aboh (sub Lennie Brown, 90 + 19 mins), Jake Young.
Unused substitutes: Dean Bouzanis, Jordan Roberts, Dan Phillips, Alfie Thornett.
GOALS: Posh – Mothersille (11 mins), Sparkes (43 mins).
CAUTIONS: Posh – O’Brien-Brady (foul), Nevett (foul).
Stevenage – Aboh (foul).
REFEREE: Stephen Parkinson 7
ATTENDANCE: 2,128 (103 Stevenage).