The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Not even a thunderstorm could blow Posh off course
Posh emerged from two tough matches and a violent thunderstorm with two 2-2 draws at Oxford United on Wednesday.
The games were played on adjoining pitches at Oxford’s training ground and were interrupted for 15 minutes in the second half while everyone ran for cover to escape the worsening weather conditions.
It didn’t put a dampener on the standard of football though.
Both games were competitive and full of quality with a stronger Posh side coming from 0-2 down to draw their match thanks to late goals from Joe Ward and Idris Kanu, while a younger team were grateful for two goals from Ethan Hamilton for their draw.
The senior side fell behind to two long-range strikes in the space of three minutes, an Anthony Forde free-kick and a Daniel Agyei thunderbolt that crashed into the net off the underside of the crossbar.
Posh had dominated until that point and assumed control again in the second-half and thorougly deserved to draw level.
Nathan Thompson and Jack Taylor combined to set up Ward before Kanu tapped home the equaliser after a Sammie Szmodics shot had been parried into his path.
Siriki Dembele looked sharp in this game and was denied on a couple of occasions by smart saves.
But the sight of him limping off towards the end of the match was as grim as the black clouds gathered above.
Dembele also set up Taylor for a chance with a sublime pass, but the midfielder’s shot was deflected over the crossbar.
On the other pitch Hamilton supplied a smart finish to fire Posh in front before Mark Sykes equalised for Oxford from the penalty spot.
Hamilton put Posh back in front with a second-half penalty, but the hosts grabbed an equaliser late on with a close range header from Sam Winnall.
Posh played a flat back four in both matches, but there was some flexibility with Kanu, Harrison Burrows and Jones all taking part in both matches.
Taylor and Jorge Grant were particularly impressive.
Posh Pitch One: Pym, Thompson, Beevers, Kent, Butler, Grant, Taylor, Ward, Szmodics, Dembele (sub Kanu), Jones.
Posh Pitch Two: Cornell, Fernandez, O’Connell, Powell, Edwards, Barker, Hamilton, Burrows, Harris, Kanu, Broom.