Peterborough United talking points: 'Losing to such an ugly team should hurt even if the performance was decent, getting out of the cups quickly can be a good thing, set-piece woes and the time-wasting clampdown is a myth'

Posh have managed to lose three matches in three different competitions in eight days.They deserved criticism after being outplayed at Stevenage in an EFL Cup tie and deserved sympathy for the manner of their League One loss at Derby County.

Tuesday night’s EFL Trophy defeat at home to Stevenage was worthy of both criticism and sympathy as the better side, by some margin, was beaten, but the self-inflicted wounds that led to a 2-1 reverse made it a very frustrating result.

Manager Grant McCann’s post-match defence of his squad players was understandable as they played some delightful high-tempo stuff, particularly in the first quarter when only more goals on top of an early strike from Ricky-Jade Jones were missing.

But those who couldn’t wait to jump on social media to complain about a lack of strength in depth also deserved to be heard. Physically this is true. When Stevenage successfully turned the contest into a trial of strength Posh were often found wanting, although they always looked the more likely team to score as the visitors were so poor in possession it was quite remarkable they managed to score twice.

OTHER TALKING POINTS…

1) Long-term, getting out of all the cups as quickly as possible might be bad for finances, but it will almost certainly be good for the chances of promotion. Posh played some decent stuff at times last night and they were committed and spirited. Young players gained useful experience and potential first-teamers received valuable minutes. The biggest disappoinment of the night was not therefore a Posh defeat, but the fact the win was gained by a team who had entertainment way down on their list of priorities. Once they realised they were outmatched in terms of mobility, speed and skill, Stevenage resorted to niggles and deliberate attempts to stop the game at every opportunity. Referee Rob Lewis and his team never threatened to get to grips with it and at one point Luke Norris and Carl Piergianni were both allowed to run 25 yards to shove Josh Knight in an off-the-ball incident without sanction. Presumably the fourth official and nearside assistant were asleep, or just scared of the noisy characters in the visiting dugout.

2) And this alleged clampdown of time wasting by officials is mere window dressing. Stevenage goalkeeper Aaron Chapman practised his slow walk at every opportunity throughout the second-half. Only in the 88th minute did Lewis and an assistant tell him to hurry up and he ignored them.

3) Chapman wasn’t given enopugh to do though given how much possession Posh enjoyed and how many promising positions they created. The Posh finishing was dreadful at Derby and it continued in that vein here. Newcomer Ephron Mason-Clark and Joel Randall both shot horribly wide in the opening 15 minutes when they had all the time they needed to place a shot past Chapman.

4) A full debut for recent signing Mason-Clark was a certainty and it was always going to be fascinating to see where McCann deployed him. He is apparently comfortable out wide or in the hole behind a striker, but those options weren’t available here as Posh decided not to play an out-and-out centre forward and they had many other players capable of offering good width. It left Mason-Clark as the furthest forward central player – a false nine maybe – but after a bright beginning he struggled to make an impact when Stevenage closed all the gaps Posh had exploited in the opening 20 minutes. If Jonson Clarke-Harris and Jack Marriott had played up front last night, Posh would probably have won comfortably given the team’s dominance of the ball, but McCann would also have learnt little he didn’t already know, and that’s surely not the point of this competition.

5) The last two games have seen a squad vulnerability at set-pieces. Posh haven’t had an aerially dominant centre-back since Gaby Zakuani got old, although Ivan Toney played that role well at corners in his time at London Road.