Peterborough United Under 21s suffered a 2-0 defeat away to Newcastle United Under 21s in the Premier League Cup on Friday evening, despite creating several promising goalscoring opportunities and an impressive goalkeeping display from Bastian Smith.
The opening stages saw both sides looking to break the deadlock, with Newcastle creating a threatening opportunity in the 22nd minute. However, Smith produced two outstanding saves in quick succession to deny the hosts and keep the scores level.
The Posh created a promising opportunity of their own in the 29th minute when McWilliams-Marcano beat his defender down the right flank before delivering a cross into the box. Simmons met the delivery with a volley, but his effort was well saved by the Newcastle goalkeeper.
The hosts threatened again in the 36th minute with a powerful left-footed effort from distance towards the corner of the net, but Smith produced another superb diving save to preserve the deadlock.
Posh continued to show attacking intent as the first half progressed, working their way into the Newcastle penalty area on several occasions, although they were unable to find the finishing touch.
Neither side managed to break the deadlock before the interval, with the Posh heading into the break on level terms following a first half highlighted by Smith's impressive saves and several promising attacking opportunities.
However, Newcastle broke the deadlock six minutes after the restart. In the 51st minute, the Posh were unfortunate to fall behind as a cross from the Newcastle flank found its way directly into the back of the net. The Posh looked to remain organised defensively, with Freeman producing a crucial block in the 61st minute to deny a threatening Newcastle effort following a cutback from the wing.
However, the hosts doubled their advantage in the 64th minute to extend their lead to 2-0. Smith was called into action again in the 75th minute, recovering well from an error to produce an important save and prevent Newcastle from adding a third.
Despite trailing by two goals, the Posh continued to push forward in search of a way back into the contest. In the 77th minute, McWilliams-Marcano produced a brilliant individual run, weaving past several Newcastle defenders before driving into the penalty area and firing towards goal, only to be denied by a fine save from the goalkeeper.
Just two minutes later, Sykut made a driving run down the left before pulling the ball back to Bushell, whose left-footed effort from distance was directed straight at the goalkeeper.
The Posh continued to search for a goal in the closing stages, with Sykut getting a shot away on the counter-attack in the first minute of stoppage time, but his effort was once again straight at the Newcastle goalkeeper.
At the other end, Smith produced another outstanding save in the third minute of added time, denying Newcastle in a one-on-one situation following a counter-attack to prevent the hosts from extending their advantage.
The contest ended in a 2-0 victory for Newcastle. Although the Posh were left to rue several missed opportunities, they continued to demonstrate attacking intent throughout a challenging away fixture, while Smith's impressive goalkeeping display and several determined defensive contributions provided further positives to take from the performance.
Posh: Smith, Bushell, Joseph, Christoudias, Freeman, Arber, Simmons (sub Claxton 85 min), Fox, Sykut, Jones (sub Mlityalwa 63 min), McWilliams-Marcano. Unused Sub: Elsom, Ndonjang, Dagne, Jones.