Peterborough United's players will 'really come on' from performance and victory over Reading, says boss Darren Ferguson

A new-look Posh side worked hard for long periods to dig out a 1-0 win at Reading who, despite their problems, fielded a number of players who played regularly in the Championship last season.

Ephron Mason-Clark got the Posh campaign going with a brilliant looping header in the first half.

Late changes helped Posh survive a prolonged period of pressure against a home side who were launching balls into the box, mostly looking for the head of tall forward Andy Carroll.

Ferguson was delighted with the resilience of his side. He said: “It’s very pleasing to start with a win in such a tough game and to get a clean sheet.

“I’m happy with elements of the performance. We didn’t start well, we didn’t control the game and looked a bit frantic and nervous though. Our goalkeeper bailed us out a couple of times by coming off his line and making saves.

“We made it easy for them at the start. We didn’t play quickly enough and we didn’t get players in the correct positions enough. We wanted them to come onto us so we could play past them we could, but they were very intense.

“But from the goal onwards, we got more control and more confidence.

"We’ve done a lot of work on getting balls into the box as we didn’t have anywhere near enough last season. It’s some header from Ephron. There was so much power it caught everyone by surprise when it went into the net.

"We then had to dig it out because they were putting balls into the box. The way the game is now there is always going to be around eight and 10 minutes of added time - which is a factor and gets the crowd up - but we dug it out and blocked things.

"A lot of the elements needed to win a game of football were there today; toughing out out, winnings things, tackles, headers, blocks along with some really good football at times. The players will really come on from it.”

Despite the injury to the new captain, Ferguson was pleased with the way his side were able to secure the three points in the second half.

Ricky-Jade Jones came on in Mason-Clark’s place and terrorised the home defence for around 15 minutes to relieve the pressure on Posh.

Ferguson was visibly pumped up at the full-time whistle, celebrating exuberantly in front of the travelling fans.

He added: “For 15 minutes Ricky was unplayable. He was so good. He’s got a lot to learn but, he was really good.

"That’s what I want from Ricky. He’s been in and out for four years and he needs to go to a different level now. It’s hard for him, but all he can do is what he did today as, he was brilliant.

"We got more control in the second half and created more chances. Kwame Poku was a threat on the right, Ricky was on the left and he had two good chances to score.

“We then just had to dig it out and show toughness. Romoney richlow and Ronnie Edwards in the second half showed a real toughness and I was delighted with that.

“It meant a lot and it was good for the fans. Given the way last season ended, there were many who were apprehensive with how we’d do this season. but certainly we’ve got a group that will have a right go.”

Posh begin their EFL Cup campaign on Tuesday at home against Swindon Town (7:30pm kick-off). The Robins saw their season opener away at Colchester rained off on Saturday.