Posh manager Dave Robertson took plenty of positives from the pre-season fixture at Grimsby Town.

Peterborough United suffered their first defeat in pre-season as Conference side Grimsby Town made it eight friendly wins from eight following a 2-1 victory at Blundell Park.

However, there were plenty of positives to take from the display for boss Dave Robertson who fielded a youthful side against the Mariners.

Teenagers Dion-Curtis Henry, Tobi Adebayo-Rowling and Harry Anderson all started and Robertson was pleased with his side's performance, particularly in the first period.

'In the first half, I thought we kept the ball really well and I was pleased with what I saw. Kieran Sadlier scored a fantastic goal, it was a stunning strike from 30-yards and I thought we created quite a few opportunities.

'I was also very pleased with the younger lads, Tobi at right-back was excellent and he and Harry Anderson combined very well together down the right hand side. Dion-Curtis Henry is just 17-years-old, but he was commanding and he took one cross that gave him a lot of confidence. He couldn't do anything with the goals we conceded. 

'I wasn't as happy with the second half because we played a few long balls down the middle and didn't mix our game up enough, but we still had one or two decent chances in front of goal.

'Fitness-wise, we got 90 minutes into the players that we needed to. The players that came on for the last 20 minutes, Jon Taylor and Marcus Maddison, played 70 minutes on Saturday so those were pre-planned substitutions.

'It was a good test for us. Grimsby are a good side and I am sure they will have a good season. They have a lot of threats in their team, but in the first period I thought Gabi Zakuani was a rock. He was excellent and made some superb tackles and blocks,' Robertson said.

The Posh boss confirmed that midfielder Harry Beautyman's fitness will be checked ahead of a possible return this weekend against Cambridge United.


For the full interview with Dave Robertson, visit the Posh Youtube channel on Wednesday morning.