Ryan Semple

Posh U21s to face The Latics in the Professional Development League on Tuesday afternoon.

Peterborough United U21s return to Professional Development League action on Tuesday afternoon (1pm) as they welcome Wigan Athletic U21s to the idverde Training Ground, looking to make it back-to-back wins in the league.

The under 21s recorded an impressive 6-0 victory over Hull City U21s in their previous league game, with Jacob Wakeling netting twice alongside Trialist while Kai Corbett and Donay O’Brien-Brady also got on the scoresheet.

U21s Lead Professional Development Phase Coach, Ryan Semple, reflected on the performances over the last few weeks, including that victory over The Tigers, and the importance of consistency. 

“I think the performances, at times, have been good and there has been a degree of positive momentum, which is what you want to see. The biggest thing for me is what we work on every day and if you keep doing it properly then you hope to see it come out in the games, and I think over this period of time, there have been parts of those that are coming out in the games but we just need to be consistent as possible on what we are working on and then carrying out on game days.”

“You look back at every game to try to review it and see where you can improve regardless of who the opposition is and what competition it is, but also take positives from that game. Hull was a really good performance, probably the most consistent performance we have had over a 90-minute period, and the clean sheet plus the six goals was excellent.”

“We reviewed Spurs and there were areas of the game that we did well, particularly the second half, but also parts where we can do better. So, you are trying to put everything together and the game against Wigan is another really good opportunity to show what we are working on a day-to-day basis.”

The Latics are currently eighth in the league and three points ahead of Posh, having played three games less, winning three of their last five games and Semple is expecting a tough afternoon.

“They are a good team, got some good attacking players, plenty of creativity and players who will ask us questions in forward areas but are also solid at the back and are aggressive, look to be on the front foot and cause us issues. However, we are confident we can exploit areas that we have looked at and try to do that during the game.”

Jacob Wakeling is set to feature for the under 21s due to being cup-tied for Bristol Street Motors Trophy while defender Janos Bodnar is currently away on international duty with Hungary U19s.

Live updates of the game will be available on The Posh Academy’s X account (@theposhacademy).