All four Peterborough United Foundation Football & Education Programme teams were in action on Wednesday, here’s how the events unfolded!
POSH BOYS NFYL
The Posh Boys NFYL team welcomed Tottenham Hotspur to the Bespoke Builds Training Ground on Wednesday afternoon, in a bid to continue their bid for the NFYL South Premier Division title.
Posh NFYL enjoyed a big 10-0 win when they visited Tottenham in October, but Spurs have been much more competitive in their games since November.
They showed early signs of threat, with both wingers looking pacey and tricky, looking to get joy out of their markers. They went close to an opener when their right winger cut onto his left foot and curled for the far corner, but Alfie Bird did well to tip it onto the post and behind for a corner.
But Posh grew into it and started to put together some impressive passages of play. They threatened with a well worked move which saw Max Williams let fly from the edge of the box, but his goalbound effort was blocked behind for a corner.
Matas Sakavicius went closest in the first half as a clever corner routine saw the big centre back get free at the back post, but his effort struck the crossbar.
And Posh felt aggrieved when Freddie Hooke nodded the ball past the goalkeeper and, with the goal at his mercy, was cleaned out by the goalkeeper. Nothing was given.
It always felt as though if Posh got one, more would follow, and they went straight on the offensive at the start of the second half as Fin Rawlings curled over from the edge of the box.
Substitute Max Krzanicki had a golden chance to put Posh ahead when the goalkeeper parried a cross to his feet, but the shot flew wide of the post.
Posh finally got their goal when Freddie HOOKE saw an initial effort saved, but followed in to dispatch the rebound as Posh breathed a collective sigh of relief.
And after Hooke was denied a second, it was Kai WOODHOUSE who doubled Posh’s lead with a lovely curled free kick, which the goalkeeper could only watch float into his net.
The scoring was rounded off with the last play of the game as Cole MORTELL nodded home from a corner to secure three goals and three points for Bruno Porfirio and Harvey Gordon’s side, who remain second in the league table.
FINAL SCORE: Posh NFYL 3-0 Tottenham
Posh XI: Bird (GK), Robinson, Waterland (C), Sakavicius, Mortell, Rawlings, Williams, Woodhouse, Maltby-Smith, Hooke, Sutton
Subs: Krzanicki, Manser, Power
POSH GIRLS NFYL
It was a Nene Derby for Posh NFYL this week as they took on high flying Northampton Town in the NFYL South Women’s Premier Division.
Posh’s aim was to be resolute and limit their opposition’s chances – something they did well for the duration of the game.
But there were very few chances at either end. Milena Jasiolek had Posh’s only shot on target in the first half as she shot for the far bottom corner from the edge of the box, but the effort was saved.
Northampton had one decent effort fly wide and found the net with a fierce drive from the edge of the box, but the whistle had long since gone for a foul in the build up.
The deadlock continued into the second half, but Poppy Rees was called into action on a more regular basis.
Posh went close when Edyn Osker let fly from a free kick, but it went just over the bar.
Northampton pushed for the winner and Rees was back in action, getting down well to make a save, before Osker cleared the next Northampton attempt off the line.
Rees got down to make another good stop on an effort which was creeping into the bottom corner, but the visitors bundled home from close range from a corner to snatch all three points in stoppage time.
FINAL SCORE: Posh NFYL 0-1 Northampton Town
Posh XI: Rees (GK), Cooper, Biggadike, Pilling (C), Edwards, Moisey, Parry, Oliver, Cook, Such, Jasiolek
Subs: Osker, Krajewska, Coloma
POSH BOYS CEFA
Peterborough United Foundation’s Boys CEFA team travelled to Norwich City this week, looking to build on their solid 2-1 win over the league leading Swindon Town last Wednesday.
And with not even two minutes on the clock, Herbie HILLIARD beat his defender, drove into the box and lobbed the goalkeeper to give Posh CEFA an early lead.
They continued to pile the pressure on and doubled their lead when Joe WALKER added number two as he spun is defender on the edge of the box and slotted into the far corner.
Chances continued to flow for Posh, and they almost made it three when a long ball over the top released Walker on goal, but his effort struck the post.
The one-way traffic continued as a Zak Wild volley forced a save by the Norwich goalkeeper from a brilliant Charlie Ashley cross.
Posh grabbed a third when Wild was denied from close range, but when the rebound fell back to Wild, he set up HILLIARD to convert his second of the game.
They took a four-goal lead into half time, scoring again when WALKER spun his marker on the half way line, beat two more defenders and slotted the ball under the keeper and into the back of the net.
Norwich came out the gates early in the second half and got on the board with a cross to their forward, whose header found the bottom corner.
But after that, it was chance after chance for Posh and, with his first touch, Ly’kyi Thomas-Wright narrowly misses from a Hilliard cross.
Wild continued to be denied a goal as he saw one effort saved and another cannon off the bar. But the chance of the half fell to Charlie Wright, as Walker spun his defender on the half way line again and beat another, before cutting the ball back to Wright, who couldn’t quite find the bottom corner.
FINAL SCORE: Norwich City 1-4 Posh CEFA
Posh XI: Dabrowski (GK), Ashley, Barker, Barnes, Grimwood, Hill, Drought, Hilliard, Wright, Wild (C), Walker
Subs: Martin, Thomas-Wright
POSH GIRLS CEFA
No league action for the Posh CEFA team this week, so they welcomed Wormley Sports Academy to the Bespoke Builds Training Ground Dome for a friendly fixture.
The game began with a flurry of goals – the first came when Nicola KRAJEWSKA beat her marker one-on-one and smashed her shot into the top corner.
The visitors levelled when the ball fell kindly on the edge of the box, which allowed their forward to place their effort into the bottom corner.
Posh retook the lead when Krajewska played Millie MCLAUGHLIN through on goal and the shot was dispatched into the bottom corner.
MCLAUGHLIN made it three for Posh when she won the ball inside the box and fired into the roof of the net.
The away side started the second half strongly and, after grabbing one goal back, levelled the scores when they won the ball back from Edie Wilkinson and passed the shot into the corner of Grace Smith’s net.
But Posh introduced Phoebe COOPER from the bench and she turned out to be the game winner – notching her first when the ball fell to her on the edge of the box and she spun her marker before striking into the top corner.
And COOPER rounded off the scoring with a great individual goal as she drove forward with the ball, beat two players, cut in and drilled the shot into the bottom left corner.
FINAL SCORE: Posh CEFA 5-3 Wormley Sports Academy
Posh 6: Smith (GK), Wilkinson (C), Hall, Krajewska, McLaughlin, Nascimento
Subs: Cooper
