Cambridge United succumbed to derby day defeat in Sky Bet League One as Peterborough United edged out a 0-1 win at a bumper Cledara Abbey Stadium…
With very little to separate the sides throughout a fiercely contested 90 minutes, the U’s were unable to make their opportunities count as Tayo Edun’s free-kick midway through the second half proved the difference.
Looking to arrest the slide following three successive defeats, and gain some local bragging rights, Neil Harris named two changes from the loss at Blackpool four days earlier, with James Gibbons returning from suspension and Ryan Loft handed a start after recovering from injury.
A glorious afternoon for it, both sets of fans were fired up and making a racket from the get-go of an end-to-end encounter, which saw the first opportunity fall to the Posh three minutes in.
Good work from Scott Malone saw him take no chances by kicking out a ball destined for the six-yard box out for a corner, which resulted in Sam Hughes firing a header towards the near post, where the U’s were on hand to clear and witness the Kwame Poku strike a half-volley wide.
On the 17th minute, a good spell in the final third from the hosts saw Malone hit an acrobatic volley into the mixer, where Loft done well to recycle near the corner and head to Dom Ballard from close range – but the striker could only get a delicate flick on it as Jed Steer claimed.
Remaining on top in the midfield battle, Jordan Cousins showcased some grit and determination on half hour to dispossess his man and advance play by dribbling past one and pulling the trigger from 25 yards out, which the visiting goalkeeper dived to his right to catch.
Straight up the other end, Darren Ferguson’s men unleashed some fluidity by picking out neat passes on each flank, concluding with Poku testing his luck with a curler from 20 yards out which was well wide of the mark. Nathan Bishop was yet to be truly tested as the home rearguard remained firm and relishing the battle.
On the cusp of the break, the U’s almost opened the scoring when an excellent ball from Malone down the left was astutely recycled by Loft, who allowed James Brophy to pick out Josh Stokes but the loanee was denied by Steer at point-blank range.
With the game retaining its tenacity, Peterborough looked to punish on the break when they progressed towards Poku with space on the right, whose trademark shot towards the opposite post was inches wide.
Buoyed by the roar of attacking the Newmarket Road End, the hosts should have broke deadlock on 57 when Gibbons picked out Ballard with an over-the-top ball, who beat his man for pace and latched on the one-on-one position, but with too much time to think hesitated to shoot – instead rolling past a defender but by the time he could introduce the ball to goal Steer denied him.
Presented with another big chance seconds later, the Southampton loanee fired over the bar from a narrow angle, before full-back Malone generated too much height on a scissor kick on the 66th minute. The U’s were pouring forwards frequently – their task now was to make it count.
Mid-way through the second half, a double change was on the cards as Elias Kachunga and Sullay Kaikai came on to provide fresh legs.
Peterborough found the breakthrough on 71 when Edun’s well-executed free-kick from the corner of the penalty area nestled past Bishop.
In response, United immediately put the pressure on their rivals as they clocked up half-chances and won plenty of corners, but ultimately nothing of quality to make the difference.
Due to this, they were susceptible defensively due to bringing lots of men forwards. A devastating counter-attack almost wrapped up proceedings on the 82nd minute when Ricky-Jade Jones embarked on a devastating counter-attack from his own area, before drilling wide of goal.
Determined not to let the dying embers peter out, Malone whipped in a deep cross to substitute Liam Bennett looming at the back post, who got his head on it but it was whiskers away from creeping into the net.
Two minutes into injury time, United were again wondering how they hadn’t scored when Kaikai squared across the face of goal to Dan Nlundulu but he couldn’t get the right connection on it when it mattered as Steer claimed.
Prior to the whistle, goalscorer Edun was dismissed after receiving a blatant second yellow card, but there was not enough time to rescue a point, with a fourth defeat in a row increasing the gap from safety.
Up next, the U’s hit the road in a week’s time (22nd March) to take on Barnsley at Oakwell Stadium.
Cambridge United: Bishop, Gibbons (Bennett, 75’), Morrison, Watts, Malone, Brophy (Kaikai, 66’), Digby, Cousins, Stokes, Ballard (Nlundulu, 76’), Loft (Kachunga, 67’)
Subs Not Used: Stevens, Okedina, Stevenson
Goalscorers:
Bookings: Gibbons, Watts
Peterborough United: Steer, Dornelly, Wallins, Hughes, Edun, Kyprianou, Collins, Poku (Hayes, 67’), Mothersille (Johnston, 90+5’), Odoh (Fernandez, 90+1’), Ihionvien (Jones, 67’)
Subs Not Used: Bilokapic, Conn-Clarke, Susoho
Goalscorers: Edun (71’)
Bookings: Odoh, Ihionvien, Edun (RED), Hughes
Referee: Edward Duckworth
Attendance: 7359 (1036 away fans)