Posh U21s beaten by an experienced Spurs side.
Peterborough United U21s preparations continued ahead of their Premier League Cup fixture against Brentford B next Monday as they faced an experienced Tottenham Hotspur side, which consisted of a number of first-team players, in a behind-closed-doors friendly on Wednesday afternoon with the hosts running out 3-1 winners at Hotspur Way.
Spurs started the game strongly as Dejan Kulusevski’s effort from inside the box fell straight into the hands of Will Blackmore after being picked out by Bryan Gil from the left-hand side. Will Van Lier was given plenty of space to try his luck from distance, but his effort failed to test Brandon Austin in the Spurs goal.
Djed Spence’s low cross into the box found Gil, but the Spanish forward couldn’t keep his effort down. Kulusevski was then played through on the right, drove into the box and sent a left-footed shot inches wide of the far post.
Spurs opened the deadlock on 25 minutes as Kulusevski’s corner was glanced on by Davinson Sanchez to Harvey White at the back-post and he converted from close-range. The hosts extended their advantage just two minutes later as Kulusevski once again raced free on the right, charged into the box before squaring to Gil to slot home into an empty net.
Blackmore was called into action on a few occasions after the break, getting a strong hand on White’s powerful effort before pushing Gil’s free-kick from distance around the post. Spurs added a third on 55 minutes as Gil’s low cross from the left-hand side picked out Doherty and he drilled the ball into the back of the net.
Roddy McGlinchey picked out David Ajiboye on the edge of the box, worked his way into the box before dragging a right-footed effort wide of the far post.
The hosts were awarded a penalty on 65 minutes after Bissouma was brought down inside the box. Bissouma stepped up to take the spot-kick and Blackmore dived low to his left to deny the midfielder. Posh pulled a goal back on 69 minutes as Ajiboye collected the ball and drove into the box, firing an effort across Alfie Whiteman into the bottom corner..
Speaking after the game, Ryan Semple said: “They had players with Premier League and Champions League appearances under their belts, so it was a fantastic experience for all the players to go head-to-head with them. We created a few chances, and while the opposition dominated the ball as you could imagine, we were solid in our shape and the players gave everything until the end. It was a tough game, but these are the type of games that you want to test yourselves, develop and improve ahead of an important game on Monday against Brentford.”
Spurs: Austin (Whiteman, 62min), Tanganga (Muir, 82min), Sanchez (Fagin-Walcott, 82min), Lenglet (Lyons-Foster, 69min), Spence (Paskotsi, 82min), Bissouma (Sarr, 69min), Skipp (Devine, 82min), Doherty (Craig, 82min), Kulusevski (Robson, 82min), White (Santiago, 82min), Gil (Mathurin, 82min).
Posh XI: Blackmore, Mensah (Powell, 20min), Fernandez, Trialist, Tomlinson (Fox, 81min), McGlinchey (Chiha, 68min), Van Lier (Harris, 68min), Hickinson (Gyamfi, 68min), Taylor, Ajiboye, Corbett.
Not Used Subs: Laycock, Bodie.