Peterborough United boss has 'no regrets' over team selection in defeat to Huddersfield Town

Posh were beaten 3-2 at home thanks to a Cameron Humphreys strike in the final minute of normal time.

Posh had thought back from 2-0 down in the second half following the introduction of Jimmy-Jay Morgan and Matt Garbett. The pair were dropped to the bench in an eyebrow-raising move from Williams as Brandon Khela and Donay O’Brien-Brady were preferred as midfield partners to Archie Collins.

The Posh boss confirmed his decision was based on the fact that both struggled in Tuesday’s defeat at Stevenage and the fact that Morgan was another of the squad to be suffering with illness in the week.

Although Posh saw a marked improvement in performance after the pair were introduced in the 55th minute - and scored twice through Kyrell Lisbie and James Dornelly - Williams was firm in the fact he did not regret his decision.

The defeat saw Posh drop to 12th, 10 points off Huddersfield in the final play-off place and seven points clear of the bottom four.

Williams said: “It was such a tough game, but I was so impressed with the response after conceding the second goal. I really feel for the players because they deserved a point. That's a big blow for us.

“Both of them (Morgan and Garbett) came into the game with such a positive attitude and showed all their quality. They helped to change the flow of that game massively.

“I have no regrets with the starting line-up because I have full confidence in Brandon and Donay.

“Jimmy and Matty were not at their best in the previous fixture. Jimmy has also been unwell, but that’s something that happens in football. You can’t always play your best. I’ve never doubted their quality, talent or commitment to the team and it’s a privilege to be able to bring players of their quality into the game. Their job was to make a positive impact from the bench and they did fantastically well.

“I have no real complaints. Brandon didn’t have his best performance but I’ve got no issue with that. He’s a fantastic player, he’s going to get even better. Today wasn’t his best performance, but it wasn’t terrible. He did his job for the team.

“Sometimes you start the game and sometimes your job is to come into the team and influence the game.

“We’re disappointed with the start to the second half and the goal was avoidable. It’s a marking issue. it wasn’t something so clever they did that was difficult to get to grips with. It was a ball slung into the box and one of their players got across one of ours and got the first contact. That’s tough to take.

“They are clearly a talented group with experience and depth, but we were a match for them and we deserved a point.

“When it got 2-2, if we had played for a draw against this opposition, we would certainly have been punished. We attacked them as the best form of defence. We were as likely to score a third goal as they were. If we sat back, we’d have had no opportunity to score the third goal and we probably would have suffered the same result or worse. I have no regrets with our approach.”

Posh host Wigan Athletic next Saturday (February 7, 3pm). ‘The Latics’ sit in 19th, level on points with Burton Albion in the bottom four, and were beaten 1-0 at home by Lincoln City today.