Peterborough United boss backs misfiring striker, praises his debutant and comments on injury situation
Downbeat boss Luke Williams rued big missed chances after Peterborough United and Stevenage played out a dull 0-0 draw in a Tuesday night League One fixture at the Weston Homes Stadium.
Captain for the night Harry Leonard spurned a sitter in the first-half and a decent opportunity late on on a night when Posh had nine attempts on goal, with none of them on target.
Leonard also missed a great chance to open the scoring at Blackpool on Saturday, but the four-goal top scorer naturally retains the faith of Williams.
The draw left Posh in 17th place ahead of a batch of Wednesday night League One matches.
Posh handed a full debut to on loan Aston Villa cenetre-back Josh Feeney. The club signed midfielder Harry Ashfield from Wrexham after the game.
"We had some big chances particularly in the first 45 minutes,” Williams stated. “I know we say it a lot, but goals put a bounce in your step. If we had taken an early opportunity it would have been a different game and that was frustrating as Stevenage are a difficult opponent to play against.
“They are built on a strong defensive structure and as we got more tired it became more difficult for us to break them down.
"The best strikers in the world miss chances and of course we back Harry. He’s been a consistently good performer for us and he will be fine.
“It certainly wasn’t a thrill a minute game, but we can take a positive from a clean sheet and Josh Feeney looked very comfortable which is encouraging. We defended the box better than we did at Blackpool.
"It’s now about finding that balance between solid defence while still carrying an attacking threat. Owura Edwards did well and him coming off was a blow, but Bolu Shofowoke had some good moments also.”
Edwards went off midway through the first half with what looked like a hamstring injury. “We will have to wait and see,” was Williams’ response to a request for an update.
He also said absent defenders Carl Johnston and Tom O’Connor were ‘nursing knocks’ and gave no indication whether or not they would return for the visit of in-form Sheffield Wednesday to London Road on Saturday (12.30pm kick off).
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