Peterborough United frustrated at 3-0 scoreline which 'flatters' Championship opponents Leeds United

Posh were beaten 3-0 in the third round at the Weston Homes Stadium thanks in part to a controversial opening goal from Ethan Ampadu following a free-kick that appeared to be taken before the referee had blown his whistle.

Patrick Bamford then doubled the lead just after the break with a stunning chest down and volley from 25 yards before Ampadu added his second in the closing stages with a header from a corner.

The nature of the first and third goals frustrated the Posh boss who saw his side fail to take advantage of a couple of opportunities which fell to Hector Kyprianou and David Ajiboye.

Ferguson said: “3-0 flatters Leeds. If you weren’t watching it, you’d think it was a typical Championship vs League One match and they’ve come here and won comfortably, but it wasn’t and there’s lots of frustration and disappointment as a result.

“It’s a flat dressing room and might not be the worst thing to get that feeling of losing again. We haven’t lost many, it’s not a nice feeling.

“We started nervy and were poor in possession in the early part of the game and they got a foothold, but then we grew into it.

“For the last half hour of the first half, we were as good as them. Just as we were building a bit of momentum, they score.

"Normally it’s one or two, but as a collective they all said that the ref blew the whistle after they kicked the ball. It’s not an excuse, they should be better organised and set up better than that. You can’t give a team like Leeds goals like that. It’s really, really disappointing. It looked like slow motion.

"We reacted really well to it though, but the last five minutes of the first half became very open, which I didn’t want. They are one of the best teams I’ve seen in transition.

“At half time, I said stay calm and keep what we’re doing and have a bit more quality in the final third. But instead they score straight away.

“If you lose a game to Bamford’s goal, you hold your hands up and say it’s a world class finish, but the other goals are not good enough.

“To be fair to my players, they kept going. Even if it was two I’d have been disappointed, but when it’s three, it looks so easy for Leeds and that wasn’t the case.

"The change to three at the back went ok. I felt I had to do something to get another forward up front. We just tried something different against them. I said we’d look at it for five minutes and if it caused us a problem we’d change back but to be fair, Leeds saw it out quite comfortably.

“The chances that fell to Hector are the kind of moments you need to go for you in a cup match. The header was a big chance and then David had a massive chance at 2-0. He’s got to score with his head. If it becomes 2-1, against a team like us who will create chances, it becomes a different game but it wasn’t to be.”

Posh are in cup action again on Wednesday night (7:30pm kick-off) when they face League Two Crawley at home in the area quarter final of the EFL Trophy. Posh are expected to field a much-changed line-up.