Peterborough United praised for coming through a physical examination and Maddison’s absence not a serious concern

Posh won 2-0 with goals from Mo Eisa - a spectacular effort form long range - and Siriki Dembele, but they came under pressure in the last part of match as League Two outfit Grimsby bombarded their penalty area,

Posh were without Marcus Maddison who had a thigh strain and Matt Godden who has a calf injury.

“It was a real tough afternoon, but another great game and another good test,” Ferguson said. “It was completely different to the game these players took part in at Reading on Wednesday which was a technical contest.

“But we will get games in the League One season when we don’t dominate possession like we want to so we will have to be prepared to battle. This game showed we can cope with that.

“Our goalkeeper has to make many saves and our centre-halves have had to head far too many balls out of their own area, but they did it well and we battled through it and generally I was pleased.

“Fatigue definitely set in towards the end, but we will tone things right down now in training and make sure we are ready for the first League One game next weekend.

“We were very good in the first 30 minutes here and Mo’s goal was outstanding. It was good to see Siriki score as well as he know he needs to get more goals this season.

“We have a game to go at Deeping on Monday when those that didn’t play today will play. Marcus has a slight muscle injury so he wasn’t risked today and we will have to manage him. I’m not risking a muscle injury. I’d rather he missed one game than several which is what would happen if the niggle got worse.”

Posh are at Deeping Rangers for their final friendly on Monday (January 29). They jost Fleetwood in their opening League One match at the Weston Homes Stadium on Saturday. August 3.