POTTER DESTROYS McCANN’S RETURN
GRANT McCann was given a rude awakening by his former club on his return to the Peterborough United hotseat – and wants his new side to cut out the free gifts.
The Northern Irishman’s second spell as Posh boss began with a drop to the bottom of the table following a comprehensive defeat to a Keane Lewis-Potter inspired Hull side he had steered away from relegation trouble before being sacked last month.
Tyler Smith’s first League goal of the season set Hull on the way to victory, before Lewis-Potter took centre stage in the second period with a classy brace to seal City’s success as they snapped a run of six matches without victory.
Posh, who remain eight points from safety, offered little as they slumped to the basement with Sammie Szmodics managing their only shot on target.
McCann said: “My time at Hull has gone now and my only focus now is on Peterborough.
“I’m really pleased to be back, but it was a really frustrating and disappointing result.
“We only really had a day on the training ground before a game to work with the players, but that’s not an excuse.
“We gifted them all three goals by losing the ball. These are things we have to learn from.
“There’s a losing mentality around the place and we need to create some positivity which will take a bit of time.
“I’m disappointed we didn’t do ourselves any sort of justice with that performance.”
The opener arrived in the 25th minute as Smith nipped in to convert a low Brandon Fleming cross at the near post from point-blank range.
Posh keeper Steven Benda then kicked a Fleming shot against Smith only for the ball to ricochet back into his hands.
Greg Docherty steered another City chance straight at Benda after Lewis-Potter burst down the left, while Posh offered little in attack. Joe Ward saw a looping header plucked from the air by Hull keeper Matt Ingram early on and the same player later had a shot blocked.
Posh needed an upturn after the break, but they got the opposite as City doubled their lead in the 51st minute.
Ward surrendered possession just outside his own box and Lewis-Potter seized on the loose ball to fire a terrific strike past Benda from 20 yards and claim his eighth goal of the campaign.
That was then followed by a ninth as Lewis-Potter cut out an Ollie Norburn pass and coolly slotted through the legs of Benda after 70 minutes.
It was a second success in English football for McCann’s successor at Hull, Shota Arveladze, who said: “The boys give an absolutely fantastic reaction to the last game. It was a massive, massive three points.
“We had control offensively and defensively, we created good chances and scored fantastic goals, and we definitely deserved to win the game.
“Keane showed today how good he is. They were two different goals. He moved in so quick for the first one and then ran 4050 yards for the second one and finished it.”