Posh U18s suffer heavy defeat in their latest pre-season friendly.
A young Peterborough United U18s squad suffered a heavy 8-2 defeat to Southend United U18s in a pre-season friendly on Saturday morning at the idverde Training Ground, with a number of under 16s and under 15s involved in the matchday squad.
Forward Joe Davies got the first goal for Posh as some excellent pressing saw the ball nicked off the goalkeeper and squared to Davies inside the box, who calmly slotted home into the empty net.
Midfielder George Holley grabbed the second goal for Posh just before the half-hour mark as George Holley won the ball back and raced through on goal before firing the ball past the goalkeeper.
However, the visitors took a 3-2 lead at the break and a further five goals in the second half condemned Posh to a heavy defeat in their latest pre-season fixture. U18s Professional Development Phase Coach, Hugh Alban Jones, reflected on a difficult game for his young squad but believes it will be a good learning experience for them.
Alban Jones said: “It was a tough game for us, especially having such a young squad, but it was a game of two halves. In the first half, we had some good moments while we were still open at the back, but looked threatening going forward, with good energy and competitiveness about us. However, in the second half, we lost that and got away from that competitive edge, winning balls and making tackles.
“We didn’t have anyone over the age of 16 on the pitch and by the end of the game, we had several under 15s playing as well. So, for some of them to play large minutes of under 18s football, it will be a really good experience. I told them at the end of the game this is what under 18s level demands, so if you switch off or are physically not up for the battle then you will be punished. We won’t dwell on the result too much, it’s more about the performance and experience and hopefully they would have learnt a lot from that game.”