Matthew Etherington

The under 21s begin their pre-season schedule with a trip to Yaxley FC tomorrow afternoon.

Peterborough United under 21s will begin their preparations for the Professional Development League campaign tomorrow afternoon (3pm) as they travel to In2itive park Stadium to face Northern Premier League Division One Midlands side Yaxley FC.

Defender Mackenzie Lamb is expected to be included in Matthew Etherington’s side tomorrow after signing for the U21s group last month, with Janos Bodnar, William Blackmore, Andrew Oluwabori, Kai Corbett and Idris Kanu all set to feature.

Etherington will field two completely different starting elevens for each half tomorrow afternoon, with five trialists set to be involved for the under 21s. Youngsters Joe Taylor, Charlie O’Connell, and Will Lakin will be unavailable to face Yaxley FC with the trio involved in Grant McCann’s pre-season training camp in Portugal.

Etherington ahead of the first game of pre-season said: “The players have worked well in the opening weeks of pre-season training and we are now looking forward to putting that hard work to practice against Yaxley FC. It will be a good opportunity to see the players challenge themselves against experienced players to kick-off a tough pre-season schedule, while also looking at a particular area of focus to concentrate on throughout the game. 

“We plan to have a starting eleven for each half, so every player will try and get as many minutes as possible and give us [coaches] an idea where every player is currently at.”

The Cuckoos finished the 2021/22 Northern Premier League Division One Midlands campaign in 14th, with ex-Posh forward Andy Funnell in the home dugout and will face his former club tomorrow afternoon.

Follow Yaxley FC's Twitter page (@yaxleyfc) to find out more details about ticket prices and information ahead of the game.