Cian Hayes on accepting a Kwame Poku challenge after his own top Peterborough United performance

The winger’s direct opponent for a starting place on the right side of the Posh attack is Kwame Poku, who might just be the best player in League One, never mind at Posh, right now.

But Hayes is determined to make the most of any opportunities that come his way to at least put pressure on someone he described as ‘an unbelievable player.’ Hayes, a summer signing from Fleetwood Town, certainly made an impact in Tuesday night’s 4-1 EFL Trophy win over Crystal Palace at the Weston Homes Stadium with two assists, on Abraham ‘Ibby’ Odoh goals, and his own first goal for the club, albeit not one the 21 year-old will remember for long.

Hayes scored after tackling a Palace defender and watching the ball loop over the goalkeeper and into the net.

"It wasn’t quite what I imagined my first goal would be,” Hayes told the Posh Plus service. “It was as lucky as anything, but I’ll take it. I was happy with how I played overall though. I need to do everything I can to get as much game time as possible and this competition is the best chance for me to play right now.

"Kwame is an unbelievable player. He is just so good, but I watch what he does and I try and learn from it. If the manager things the game needs something different I will do my best to go on and make an impact. I just have to bide my time and try to win myself an opportunity. I’m enjoying it here though. It’s a class set of lads and we have great fun in the dressing room.”

Posh scored all four goals last night in the second-half to win their place in the knockout stages of a competition they won last season.

"We took on the manager’s feedback at half-time really well,” Hayes added. “We had controlled the first-half, but we needed to be more ruthless and we were. I got slated in the dressing room for not shooting more and maybe I will become more selfish, but it's about striking the right balance. It was great to see Ibby score twice as he gets stick in training for the standard of his shooting!

“I’m now massively looking forward to the derby and hopefully we will get three points.”

Posh host local rivals Cambridge United in a League One game at the Weston Homes Stadium on Saturday (3pm kick off).