Darren Ferguson admits Peterborough United were 'fortunate' to escape with draw against Leyton Orient

Posh came away from the Gaughan Group Stadium with a 2-2 draw after being second best for long spells in the face of an aggressive press from the home side.

Posh fell behind thanks to a long range Tom James effort but turned things around in the dying minutes of the half after a change back to the 4-2-3-1 formation thanks to goals from Kwame Poku and a Malik Mothersille penalty.

Posh had started with the three at the back formation they played in the win over Bristol Rovers on Saturday.

Orient then raised their levels again in the second half and equalised early in the second half through Charlie Kelman.

The result means that Posh sit 8th in the standings and could have moved as high as third if they had held on for victory.

The Posh boss conceded that his side were second best and fortunate to take a point.

He said: “We were fortunate. The home team were the better team. We were not anywhere near our best on and off the ball and to take a point is probably good.

“They were more aggressive than us all over the pitch, they won second balls, all the duels. We didn’t pass forward quick enough and when we did we didn’t see the results. We were poor on and off the ball.

“We had far too many bad passes back to Jed, especially when it is on his right foot when he’s left footed.

“We play to pass forward not back all the time. There’s time you have to control the game. A good example was Donay when he came on. He got, passed forward and broke the lines. That’s what I want my midfielders to do, they’re not doing it. They’re not doing it enough and they know that. When we play forward, you can see we’ve got too much pace for teams. That is why teams press us and Orient were good at it.

“We didn’t get the ball to our forwards quickly enough or anywhere near enough in the second half.

“We changed shape just before we got back in the game and got Malik wide. He was good, he was a threat. It’s a great penalty too, really good composure.

“I stuck with the same team as Saturday because I wanted a bit of consistency We played a three with the ball and a four without it. We had to change it because they were affecting us playing out.

“We went in ahead, fortunately so, and we then had to control the game better and be aggressive but we lost a goal within six of seven minutes and that gets the place going again.

In terms of game management. I’ve seen a lot of naivety tonight. In the last minute, we’ve got a corner, take it short and they go up the pitch on the counter attack, very naive.

“I suppose you come away with a draw and say it’s a good result but there is no question we need to improve massively for Saturday.

“We work on the training ground all of the time but the players need to take responsibility themselves for certain things in the game. Duels, second balls and headers, they are the basics of the game.”

A strong Posh under 21 side- which included George Nevett, Ryan De Havilland and Romoney Crichlow- were beaten 3-1 away at Peterborough Sports in the Northants Hillier Senior Cup on Tuesday night. David Kamara equalised for Posh on the stroke of half time but Posh conceded a further two goals in the second half.

Posh have also moved down to second in their EFL Trophy group after Crystal Palace won 3-1 away at Gillingham on Tuesday night. Gillingham have been all but eliminated while Posh, Stevenage and Palace tied on three points.

Posh travel to second placed Birmingham on Saturday.