Peterborough United skipper keen to concentrate on the positives, especially after a 'scintillating' first-half performance
Peterborough United skipper Hector Kyprianou was keen to accentuate the positives after a nervy 3-2 League One win over Bristol Rovers at the Weston Homes Stadium on Saturday.
Kyprianou described the first-half Posh display as ‘scintillating’ as they reached the interval 2-0 up thanks to goals from Kwame Poku and Ricky-Jade Jones. Malik Mothersille added a third goal before Rovers fought back late on and almost grabbed an unlikely point. Kyprianou created the opening goal for Poku with a terrific pass as Posh scored the first goal in a game for the first time this season.
Posh are next in action at Leyton Orient on Tuesday when Kyprianou will lead the side out against his old club.
"We were scintillating in the first-half,” Kyprianou told the Posh Plus service after the game. “We were given a big message to play forward and to play the ball in behind their defenders and we took it on board and did it well. Chris Conn-Clarke made a great run for the first goal which meant I could disguise my pass to Kwame and I was delighted to see Ricky score as his workrate often goes unnoticed. I don’t tend to take too many chances with my passes, but I’ve been working with the coaches on trying to play the ball in behind defenders more often.
"The second-half was always likely to be different even though we managed to get a third goal, but when they went to a man for man press we found it more difficult, possibly because we were playing a different formation and we weren’t so fluid in it. Clearly the way the game ended we still have plenty to learn, but a big positive, as well as how we played for most of the game, was also managing to see the game out. A first win at home after what has gone on so far was another positive.
"When it got back to 3-2 we had to find a balance between keeping the ball and playing behind their defence. It’s not as easy as it might look from the crowd’s point of view as the game got very frantic and it was hard to stay calm. I tried to keep the players focussed and we saw it it through which is the main thing.
"We’re still a young team, but we have another game on Tuesday with another three points at stake so we will be making sure we are ready for that one. It will be great for me to lead the team out at my old club.”