Posh U18s beaten by The Robins on Saturday afternoon.
Peterborough United U18s winning run in the Under-18 Professional Development League came to an end on Saturday afternoon after they fell to a narrow 3-2 defeat to Bristol City U18s at the idverde Training Ground.
Posh were awarded a penalty on 16 minutes after Harry Titchmarsh and Torin Ntege were both taken out inside the box. Reuben Marshall stepped up and calmly converted the spot-kick to hand the under 18s the lead.
The visitors grabbed the equaliser on 53 minutes as their number 10’s effort from the edge of the box, on the half-volley, found the top corner. The Robins took the lead on 64 minutes as a corner caused a scramble inside the box before the ball was forced home.
Jamal Campbell-Ryce’s side found the equaliser in the closing stages as Bayley McCann’s corner wasn’t cleared by the Robins’ defence, the ball fell to Marshall just inside the area and his powerful left-footed effort found the back of the net.
However, it was heartbreak for the young Posh side as the visitors grabbed the winner in the last minute of the game. A low free-kick was delivered into the box and it was tapped home from close-range to condemn the under 18s to their first defeat in 11 games.
Speaking on the game, Campbell-Ryce said: “A draw would have been a fair result. Although we weren’t as good as we have been in recent weeks, I still thought we had moments of some really good stuff but just lacked that cutting-edge in the final third. From our point of view, I don’t think we dealt with their direct play well enough and conceding two set pieces punished us.
“It was about game management at the end and that’s still something the players need to learn. In some instances, they could have kicked the ball out and gotten back into shape instead of trying to play out. We have been on a fantastic run, but it’s also good that we have lost and we can now see what everyone's character is like. We are still in a good place, third in the league and in two cup finals.”
Posh XI: West, Dornelly, Arthur, Toynton, Mills, Marcon, Rose, Titchmarsh, Kelmendi, Marshall, Ntege.
Subs Used: McCann, McWilliams-Marcano, Gilbert, Trialist, Winters.