Peterborough United undone by hard graft as well as two great goals

Stanley claimed a shock opening day League One success thanks to glorious goals from Dion Charles and Tariq Uwakwe towards the end of each half against a lethargic Posh side.

Posh pre-match preparations were hampered by the absence of Siriki Dembele and Reece Brown who have both tested positive for coronavirus.

“My players have crawled off the pitch they worked so hard,” Coleman enthused. “They were all breathing out of their backsides because of the effort they put in.

“We have beaten a very good side who will be there or thereabouts at the end of the season by grafting hard and by scoring two great goals.

“Peterborough were missing one of their stars in Dembele, but the performance proves we can win games at this level. We’re still young and we’re still learning, but if we keep working this hard we will have a very enjoyable season.

“It was like a game of chess in the first-half as we cancelled each other out until we took the lead with a brilliant strike from Dion. I’m taking some of the credit because I have urged him to shoot more. He has that sort of goal in his locker, but equally he could have tried to bring the ball down, fell over and they could have broken.

“Peterborough played well in the second-half. They played some good football, but they didn’t create any good chances apart from hitting the bar from a free kick.

“We kept our shape and stayed well organised.”

Summer signing Jonson Clarke-Harris was the Posh player to hit the crossbar when it was still 1-0.