Peterborough United picked off by three old boys in tough night at Huddersfield Town
Peterborough United fell victim to three of their former players as they were beaten 4-1 by Huddersfield Town at the Accu Stadium on Tuesday night (October 20).
Archie Collins, Joe Taylor and Bali Mumba all returned to haunt their old side and between had a hand in each the four goals; scoring three of them. Taylor scored twice, Mumba once and Collins set up one as results elsewhere saw Posh drop back into the bottom four.
It was a difficult night for Posh who struggled to hurt a compact Huddersfield side who were happy to deny space to run into and played Posh at their own game; countering with blistering pace of their own.
There was brief hope for Posh when Harry Leonard cut the deficit to 2-1 with 20 minutes to play but those hopes were quickly extinguished when Taylor grabbed his second of the game just two minutes later.
It was the first real failure of ‘Savage Ball’ as Posh went on the attack with half an hour to play; employing what appeared to be a 3-3-4 formation but that only served to allow Huddersfield's attackers the space to pick Posh off and slam in three goals in the final half an hour.
Posh made two changes to their starting line-up with Vernon Masara surprisingly replacing Ethan Williams in the number 10 role and Brandon Khela coming in for Harry Ashfield in midfield. Centre-back Josh Feeney started against a team he played for last season.
Huddersfield included their three former Posh players from the start, Bali Mumba, Archie Collins and Joe Taylor and between them they had a hand in all four goals, scoring three of them.
Collins was straight into the action as Posh suffered a nightmare start as he whipped in a free-kick towards three unmarked and waiting Huddersfield players. Alex Bass was routed to his line as Ilias Bronkhorst guided the ball into the corner of the net.
Unlike many sides, the Terries were then content to allow Posh to get a foot on the ball and were able to create opportunities on the break thanks to Posh moves frequently breaking down due to loose balls or heavy touches. Despite carving Posh open with swift breaks, Bass remained relatively untroubled in the first half with Ashley Fletcher and Joe Taylor driving efforts into the side netting.
The closest the hosts came to adding to their lead in the first 45 came when Bass almost spilled a corner over his own goalline but managed to collect at the second attempt.
Posh’s attack looked blunt as the only sight of goal came from efforts in quick succession from Brandon Khela and Bolu Shofowoke. Both efforts lacked conviction and were easily blocked in the box after half an hour.
Savage made two changes at the break, swapping young forwards Vernon Masara and Bolu Shofowoke for Ethan Williams and Matt Garbett.
There was little immediate change as neither side looked capable of breaking down the other and it took the further introductions of Danny Ormerod, Harry Ashfield and Declan Frith to really open the game up.
It did not serve Posh well though as with 66 minutes played, Taylor was alive to a pass infield that Feeney was not and picked his pocket, ran through on goal and slotted past Bass for the first of three goals in six minutes.
It was a swift response from Posh as, two minutes later, Leonard controlled an Ormerod pass onto edge of the box and fired across goal right into the corner of the net. The hope was only brief though as Taylor grabbed his second of the night two minutes later.
The vacated full-back area was wide open for substitute Marcus Harness to roll into Taylor. He played a lovely one-touch finish into the corner.
Despite his best efforts, he would be denied a hat-trick and Mumba instead grabbed the final goal of the game. Again picking the ball up in an area a full-back would normally be, on the right of the Posh box and he curled it into the corner.
Posh: Alex Bass 6, Carl Johnston 7, Josh Feeney 6, Lucca Mendonca 6, Harley Mills 5 (sub Danny Ormerod, Brandon Khela 5 (sub Harry Ashfield, 61 mins), Liam Kelly 5, Owura Edwards 5, Vernon Masara 5 (sub Matt Garbett, 46 mins), Bolu Shofowoke 4 (sub Ethan Williams, 46 mins), Harry Leonard 6.
Subs: Collin Andeng-Ndi, Declan Frith, David Okagbue, Danny Ormerod, Harry Ashfield.
Huddersfield: Matty Young, Bali Mumba, Sean Roughan, Ibane Bowat, Joe Low, Cameron Humphreys, Ilias Bronkhorst, Archie Collins, Derensil Sanches Fernandes (sub Ethan Brierley, 81 mins) Joe Taylor (sub Samson Tovide, 90 mins), Ashley Fletcher (sub Marcus Harness, 62 mins).
Subs: Jak Alnwick, Lasse Sorenson, Lynden Gooch, Cameron Ashia, Samson Tovide.
Posh goals: Leonard (68 mins)
Huddersfield goals: Bronkhorst (3 mins), Taylor (66, 70 mins), Mumba (79 mins)
Posh cautions: Mendonca (foul), Kelly (foul)
Huddersfield cautions: Bronkhorst (foul), Taylor (dissent)
Referee: Simon Mather 5.
Attendance: 14,470 Huddersfield (approx 150 Posh)