Peterborough United players were solid rather than spectacular in Oxford
Captain Alex Woodyard led from the front, early substitute Ryan Tafazolli was excellent at the back and Marcus Maddison added another goal assist to his huge collection
Ratings key; 10-Perfect, 9-Outstanding, 8-Very good, 7-Good, 6-Average, 5-Poor, 4-Stinker
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Hide AdConor O’Malley: This was as confident a display as he’s given for Posh. A couple of fine saves from long shots and he handled crosses immaculately. Kicked well on a difficult surface 7
Jason Naismith: Almost scored early on with a fierce shot that struck the post. His defending against a tricky wide player wasn’t always decisive, but he kept plugging away 6.5
Daniel Lafferty: Didn’t look at his sharpest, but one suspects he wasn’t fully fit. Taken off 20 minutes from time 6
Ben White: Picked up a deserved early caution which was a worry, but he settled down to play pretty well. Shifted to left back for the final 20 minutes and coped okay 7
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Hide AdJosh Knight: The on-loan Leicester centre-back’s Posh debut lasted 21 minutes. Hobbled off with an injury 6
Alex Woodyard: The captain got stuck in for 90 minutes. Not the quickest around the field, but made a couple of crucial tackles around the edge of the area 7
Kyle Dempsey: This athletic midfielder doesn’t look comfortable in the diamond, but his workrate was impressive here. Passed indifferently 6
Joe Ward: Needs to be hugging a touchline to provide his best form. He’s not so effective in the confined spaces of central midfield in a midield diamond 5.5
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Hide AdGeorge Cooper: Quiet for an hour before he went off. Tough to get him in the game as passing was difficult on this tricky surface 5
Marcus Maddison: Created the goal with a smart piece of thinking and delivered a couple of excellent free kicks which could have led to goals. Unfortunate to be cautioned for simulation, gave the ‘keeper catching practice with his corners, but he always looked the likeliest to make something positive happen 7
Ivan Toney: His perseverence was outstanding as he received a physical buffeting from two big centre-backs. Tookd his goal well and was a useful defender when Oxford thgrew set pieces into the Posh penalty area 6.5
Substitutes
Ryan Tafazolli: (for Knight, 21 mins). Very strong display after arriving as an early substitute 7
Lee Tomlin: (for Cooper, 60 mins).
Rhys Bennett: (for Lafferty, 71 mins)
Aaron Chapman: (not used).
Louis Reed: (not used).
Matty Stevens: (not used).
Matt Godden: (not used).