The Posh Under 18s secured their first win of the Professional Development League season with a 2-1 victory over Millwall in their fourth fixture, played at the Bespoke Builds Training Ground.
The Peterborough United Under 18s earned a valuable three points thanks to goals from Benji McWilliams-Marcano and Bolo Shofowoke.
Millwall made the brighter start, but the Posh defence stood firm to keep them at bay. The hosts then grew into the contest, with Shofowoke leading several dangerous counter-attacks.
Midway through the first half, Simmons found the net from a McWilliams-Marcano pass, only to see the flag raised for offside. Both sides had opportunities, but the first half ended goalless.
Posh lifted the tempo after the interval and broke the deadlock in the 49th minute. Crozier’s strike was parried by the goalkeeper, but MCWILLIAMS-MARCANO reacted quickest to calmly slot home the rebound.
Just four minutes later, SHOFOWOKE produced a superb solo run down the left, cutting inside the box before finishing emphatically to double the advantage.
The pressure continued, with Shofowoke again going close on 58 minutes when he latched onto a long pass from Westcott, surged forward, and struck the post. Posh introduced Norville, Mfuri and Fraser as they looked to protect their clean sheet, but Millwall pulled a goal back in the 86th minute to set up a tense finale.
Bushell, however, produced a crucial sliding challenge late on to halt a dangerous attack, and Posh held firm to record their first league win of the campaign.
Lead Under 18s Coach Jimmy Unwin said afterwards: “This victory was a really important result for the players. We created good chances in the first half, and in the second half we showed the attacking play we wanted and scored two excellent goals. I was pleased with all of the players today, and in particular I would like to praise the midfield unit for their performance. Of course, it was disappointing not to keep a clean sheet late on, but overall it was a very positive display and I believe the players will take great confidence from it.”
Posh: Westcott, Bushell, Joseph, Christoudias (sub Fraser 81min), Sudakaran, Arber, McWilliams-Macrano, Mlityalwa, Shofowoke, Crozier (sub Norville 72min), Simmons (sub Mfuri 72min).
Unused subs: Dagne, Briggs