A mixture of the under 21s and under 18s put in a creditable display at Crystal Palace with Jimmy Unwin's men pushing their hosts hard in the latest pre-season friendly.
Joel Odei-Larbi scored his first goal in the pre-season campaign as Posh fell to defeat at Crystal Palace's training complex.
Unwin named two separate squads, mixed with both under 18s and under 21s, to which each side entertained a 60-minute runout; two trialists kept their spot from last time out at Wingate & Finchley, whilst a further six trialists were provided with an opportunity to prove their worth in Posh colours.
The young Posh side suffered an early setback after the hosts took the lead via a well taken free-kick into the top corner, beating Will Blackmore who was forced into a series of saves beforehand to keep the scores level.
Posh responded well; Trialist B met an in-swinging delivery with his head, but his efforts failed to test the Palace shot-stopper. Davon Gbajumo then created an opportunity after the full-back coasted past a number of Palace shirts, before his driven effort was kept out by the keeper.
The hosts reclaimed momentum after two quick-fire chances; Trialist B pulled out an impressive last-ditch block on the latter to halt any danger.
Odei-Larbi provided Posh with their best chance on 45 minutes after the forward beat his man down the right before striking against the woodwork to very nearly restore parity. The hosts then doubled the lead following an instinctive finish from the Palace frontman.
Odei-Larbi was rewarded for his efforts on 58 minutes; the forward was found in space down the right before coolly finishing into the bottom corner – the last notable opportunity for the first half XI.
The second half XI started the afternoon positively, with Unwin’s side sustaining periods of possession - but no real chances led from this. Palace added a third on 86 minutes after a fairly-quiet second period was taken by surprise with the forward finished instinctively past the trialist in goal.
Joe Davis had an opportunity to seek consolation after the ball fell to the forward subsequent to a defensive mix-up between the Palace backline, but the hosts recovered well to clear the danger.
Benjy McWilliams-Marcano saw his efforts fall wide of the post when one-on-one with the keeper, this proving to be the last worthwhile opportunity of the afternoon.
Posh’s goalscorer shared his thoughts on full-time, he said: “Today’s performance was a 50/50, some chances, some very good chances. I think we started a bit slow and from there carried on throughout the game.”
Unwin added: “I was really pleased with large spells of the game, there wasn’t a lack of effort, it was more to come into terms with their system, but the main thing was we dug in and got into the game and had really good moments.”
Posh First Half XI: Blackmore, Trialist A, Trialist B, Sumnall, Gbajumo, Trialist C, Challinor, Holley, Trialist D, Odei-Larbi, Fitzpatrick Subs: None
Posh Second Half XI: Trialist E, Freeman, Aikins, Gilbert, Unwin, Trialist F, Trialist G, Sykut, Changunda, Davies, McWilliams-Marcano Used Subs: Arber, Westcott, Sakalas
Half-Time: Crystal Palace Under 21s 2 – 1 Peterborough United Under 21s
Full Time: Crystal Palace Under 21s 3 – 1 Peterborough United Under 21s