Peterborough United mess it up at both ends of the pitch as they bow out of the FA Cup

The Shrews hadn’t scored more than one goal in a game against third tier opposition since October 5. They managed three in one half here as Posh wilted against a strong wind at the Montgomery Waters Stadium.

Posh trailled 3-1 at the break and yet had enough chances in the opening 20 minutes of the second half to surge into the lead. But, despite the ‘two best strikers in League One’ finally getting to spend a reasonable amount of time together on the pitch, they couldn’t convert any and the game limped to an inevitable conclusion in the final quarter amid a flurry of tactical fouls, cautions and errors in difficult conditions without a second-half goal for either side.

It’s a third straight away defeat against League One opponents and another against a side who are unlikely to be in the promotion shake-up. Weak defending and missing chances is a surefire way of losing matches.

Posh boss Grant McCann selected what he believes is his strongest XI, with the possible exception of teenage centre-back Ronnie Edwards whose appeal against a red card the previous weekend failed, and long-term injury victim Joe Ward. Josh Knight was paired up with Frankie Kent in the heart of the Posh back four.

Midfielder Jack Taylor returned to the starting line-up after missing two games with a virus as Posh predictably stuck with a 4-3-3 formation.

Shrewsbury started the game many places and points behind Posh in League One with that chronic goalscoring problem holding them back.

They soon put that right. There were just 90 seconds on the clock when Jordan Shipley escaped down the left and crossed for Tom Bayliss to sweep hom majestically on the half volley. Both involved in the goal were given a worrying amount of space.

Bayliss should have made it 2-0 a couple of minutes later when firing over after some more defensive hesitancy as Posh struggled to get into the game.

But they then received a helping hand, well foot actually, from Shrews’ keeper Marko Marosi. Marosi’s attempted pass out of defence was delivered straight to Jonson Clarke-Harris. There was still plenty for the Posh skipper to do and he did it well, racing towards the area and driving a cross over for Poku to tap home from close range.

It didn’t lead to any Posh improvement though. They were playing into the strong wind and couldn’t get out. Clarke-Harris smacked a 25-yard free kick into the face of a member of the defensive wall, but otherwise the hosts picked up all loose balls and won most contested challenges.

And they re-took the lead 10 minutes before the break when a set-piece delivery was half-cleared to the edge of the area. Taylor Moore smashed the ball goalwards, Lucas Bergstrom spilled it and Matthew Pennington converted the rebound as the goalkeeper’s teammates stood and watched.

Bergstrom redeemed himself immediately when keeping out a close-range shot from Rob Street after Posh had again been opened up rather too easily.

Posh did finish the half well and neat play from Harrison Burrows and Ephron Mason-Clark teed up Clarke-Harris 20 yards from goal, but he blasted over the bar.

But all that promise disappeared in another moment of defensive sloppiness on the stroke of half-time.

Jack Taylor’s careless foul led to a deep free-kick which Clarke-Harris appeared to lose sight of. The ball dropped for Burrows to clear, but before he could Chey Dunkley nicked it off him and drew an obvious foul.

Luke Leahy slotted home the spot-kick and the referee immediately blew for half-time.

McCann’s response was to rip up his 4-3-3 play-book. Jack Marriott emerged to play alongside Clarke-Harris with Burrows the man to be replaced.

Marriott soon forced Marosi into a save, albeit a simple one.

There was an alarm when Bergstrom was perilously close to making a save from Christian Saydee outside his area, but Posh started to dominate, helped by the advantage of the elements.

Taylor forced a save from 35 yards and a strong run by Mason-Clarke led to Clarke-Harris seeing a shot on the turn deflected wide.

Marriott then muffed a great chance from a Poku cross. Clarke-Harris than shot badly wide after a Mason-Clark pass and Marosi spilled another Marriott strike from 12 yards, but a defender was on hand to clear.

And then on the hour mark it was Mason-Clarke’s turn to spurn a golden opportunity when firing straight at Marosi when clean through 12 yards from goal.

But Posh rather fizzled out after that. The game became scrappy as Shrewsbury committed foul after foul without fear of a caution until the final stages.

Of course the FA Cup serves mainly as a distraction these days so Posh shouldn’t lose too much sleep over the actual result, but performances, both team and individuals, have nosedived, and the transfer window is over a month away.

Posh: Lucas Bergstrom, Dan Butler, Frankie Kent, Josh Knight, Nathan Thompson (sub Ben Mensah, 83 mins), Jeando Fuchs, Jack Taylor, Harrison Burrows (sub Jack Marriott 46 mins), Ephron Mason-Clark (sub Rick-Jade Jones, 82 mins), Kwame Poku, Jonson Clarke-Harris

Unused subs: Will Blackmore, Kell Watts, Ben Thompson, Hector Kyprianou, Joel Randall, Joe Taylor.

Shrewsbury: Marko Marosi, Luke Leahy, Matt Pennington, Taylor Moore, Chey Dunkley, Carl Winchester, Rob Street (sub Rekeil Pike, 90 mins), Tom Bayliss, Christian Saydee (sub Ryan Bowman, 82 mins), Jordan Shipley, Tom Flanagan.

Unused subs: Harry Burgoyne, Tom Bloxham, Josh Barlow, Josh Bailey, Declan Hutchings.

Goals: Posh – Poku (12 mins).

Shrewsbury – Bayliss (2 mins), Pennington (35 mins).

Cautions: Posh – Fuchs (deliberate handball), Butler (dissent). Kent (dissent), Thompson (foul).

Shrewsbury – Street (foul), Saydee (foul), Shipley (foul), Moore (foul).

Referee: Simon Mather 5

Attendance: 2,895 (234 Posh),