Peterborough United boss Darren Ferguson explains his goalkeeper switch ahead of a 5-1 demolition of Blackpool
Peterborough United boss Darren Ferguson felt that it was the ‘right time’ to make a change in goal.
The Posh boss preferred Nicholas Bilokapic to the more experienced Jed Steer for Tuesday night’s 5-1 demolition of Blackpool at the Weston Homes Stadium. It was the 22-year-old’s first Football League start since the 2-0 defeat at Cheltenham on April 23 last season.
He lost his place in the Posh side last February after a nightmare performance in the 5-2 defeat away at Wycombe. Steer also lost his place after a performance at Adams Park, Saturday's 3-1 defeat which saw him concede for the 24th time in just 12 League One games.
While Ferguson was keen to point out the fault for Posh’s leaky defence did not fall entirely at Steer’s door, he said he could sense the time was right to make a change.
Ferguson said: “I was pleased with Nick’s performance. He went searching a bit for the goal. He lost his position as he was too eager when he didn’t have to be, but I don’t think he would have stopped it anyway if he had stayed in the middle of the goal because we were caught in behind.
“Nick created the second goal by throwing out early to Ricky. He plays quick and that’s what we wanted because we’ve got pace. His distribution was good. Sometimes, he hangs onto it for just for that last second, but he does it for a reason even if it is heart in mouth.
“Overall, he was very good and I was pleased. It was a tough decision but I had to do something. The reason why we have lost goals is not just because of Jed clearly and he’s saved us in many games, but it was the right time to make a change.
“We’ve got three really good goalkeepers, but we haven’t kept a clean sheet (in the league) so I had to do something. I’m not throwing Jed under the bus and saying it’s because of him because it’s certainly isn’t, but I could see it was time to give Nick a go.
“Nick has got an opportunity now, just like when Jed was given an opportunity last year. He’s now got to find some consistency because we know he’s good enough. We saw that last season. Concentration and consistency is what we need from him.”