Peterborough United concluded their Sky Bet League One campaign against Burton Albion on Saturday and the football club welcomed six junior members to help ensure the day was a success.
Darren Ferguson’s men concluded their Sky Bet League One season with a 3-1 victory over Burton Albion at the ABAX Stadium on Saturday and the football club were pleased to welcome six Junior Posh members who took on key roles on the crucial match day.
Junior Posh members were invited to apply for six different roles; Junior Kit Manager, Junior Manager, Junior Match Day Announcer, Junior Photographer, Junior Stadium Manager and Junior Press Officer and the chosen youngsters had a number of responsibilities on the day, all of which who thrived.
Our Junior Manager for the day was Jacob Craig, who came prepared with tactics and his team selection for the day. He was invited into the manager’s office where he spent time with Darren Ferguson going through his ideas before meeting assistant manager Gavin Strachan and Aaron Mclean.
He was then taken through to the dressing room to meet the players, grabbing autographs and having pictures with ‘his squad’. Jacob was then taken into the Boardroom before taking his seat in the dugout for part of the warm-up. He wanted a closer view of the action so we took him onto the pitch where he could see the players going through their routine ahead of kick-off.
After taking his seat to watch the 3-1 victory, Jacob was in prime position to see goals from Joe Ward, an own goal and Ivan Toney secure all three points. Our second ‘worker’ for the day was Jacob Cooke, who took on an active role as Junior Kit Manager. The five-year-old, who was joined by his Dad, helped Kit Manager Christian Sansom prepare the dressing room, securing the boots were ready for the players and helping to pump up the footballs for the warm-up.
Like his namesake, the Junior Manager, Jacob then spent time with the players in the dressing room before watching the warm-up pitch-side and then on the pitch as the players were put through their paces ahead of kick-off. Jacob was able to take photographs of his day, grab autographs and watch the action from the stand.
Our third Junior Posh member involved in the day was our Junior Photographer, George Tinker who spent the day with club snapper Joe Dent. George was a huge success in the role, taking over 1,000 photos during the warm-up and the match as well as the lap of honour following the final whistle as the players thanked the supporters for their backing this season. George had a great position to see all of the action and has a bright future as a photographer.
Our Junior Stadium Manager was Amy Walthew who spent the day alongside Dawn Brittain learning about how a game is even staged. From time in the control box, to dealing with incidents throughout the game, Amy had an eye-opening experience of the challenges that are faced every single match day at the stadium.
Our Junior Match Day Announcer was Shay Buckley and you would have heard how he performed as he was on the mic during the pre-match presentations and also throughout the 90 minutes. Shay got to announce the team line-ups, the winners of some of the end of season awards and a number of the goalscorers and substitutions during the fixture, learning from regular announcer David Fuller.
And finally, the Junior Press Officer was Ben Noble who helped Phil with the pre-match presentations, ensuring that everything ran smoothly before learning about how updates are done through the game for social media. Ben took notes on the game, compiled his own match report which is below and spent time in the post-match press conference as Darren Ferguson and Jason Naismith faced the media.
Junior Posh co-ordinator Phil Adlam said: “This is the second time that we have had a Junior Takeover at our stadium and once again, it was a success, thanks to the enthusiasm of the children but also the hard work of those that they were assigned too. Things like this are a great way of showing the next generation how we do things at Posh, but also brilliant to see how much they enjoy going behind the scenes. Sometimes it is the little things that make a big difference.”
REVIEW OF MY DAY (by Ben Noble, Junior Match Day Press Officer)
Last Saturday I had an amazing opportunity to help Phil Adlam by being his media assistant. I met Phil at the ground at 4pm where I got my pass and a free training shirt with my initials on it! He took me to the press box where we bumped into Sam Edwards who was about to dig into his pie.
We then went pitch side where we handed out end of season awards and took some photos with Joe Dent. It was brilliant being by the pitch, watching the stadium fill up and feel the atmosphere building before our most important game in years
We then took our seats in the press box to watch the game – it was a great view. During the game, I had my note pad and pen where I had to write key incidents such as shots on target, goals and other key moments so I could write my own match report. See below.
After the match, we then went down the tunnel and interviewed the gaffer and Jason Naismith which is on posh’s YouTube channel and website. It was really exciting meeting Darren Ferguson and Jason to hear their thoughts of the game. Also, It was really interesting for me as I have always wondered what it is like behind the scenes.
I then finished my fantastic day by learning how busy Phil is and how he puts a lot of effort into helping the club and has to stay behind late to upload things onto the internet. It was a great day. Thank you Posh for a wonderful opportunity!
MATCH REPORT (by Ben Noble)
Burton started the stronger of the two teams, and looked organised and dangerous. Posh survived three half chances in the first ten minutes, and I’m not going to lie but I thought that we could be in for a long afternoon but eventually Posh found their form when Ivan Toney hit the crossbar just after 11 minutes.
It was posh who broke the deadlock through Joe Ward after a good play down the right wing and there was Ward was to tap it in, in front of the ecstatic Posh fans in the London Road end. After 30 minutes Ward had another shot from a tight angle but the Burton keeper tipped it over the crossbar.
Four minutes later posh got their second after Jason Naismith’s dangerous low cross was turned into the net by the Burton defender, but it was Toney who went off celebrating. When half time arrived Posh went in two nil up. Siriki Dembele replaced Marcus Maddison who had injured his ankle early in the first half from a heavy challenge.
Most of the action in the second half was fairly low key but in the 83-minute Burton got one back which really put the pressure on. Five minutes later Toney gave Posh their third following a through ball from Joe Ward as Toney smacked the underside of the crossbar and over the line to secure Posh the three points that they deserved. A great result but it’s a shame about Doncaster beating Coventry.