A brace from Ntege helps Posh U18 secure a 4-0 victory over the Clarets.
Peterborough United U18s are just unstoppable at the minute. An excellent first-half, which saw three goals in 15 minutes, helped the Posh youngsters breeze to a 4-0 victory over Burnley U18s on Saturday morning in the Under-18 Professional Development League.
A brace from Torin Ntege, alongside a strike from Harry Titchmarsh, saw Posh in complete control inside the opening 15 minutes before Josh Marcon’s goal in the second half completed a fantastic afternoon for the under 18s, extending their winning run to 11 games in all competitions.
Posh broke the deadlock on three minutes as Titchmarsh fed the ball to Ntege on the edge of the box, who cut inside before firing a powerful effort into the top corner. The lead was doubled on 11 minutes as Titchmarsh curled a low effort from the edge of the box into the bottom corner.
It became three on 14 minutes as Josh Marcon’s shot from distance was flicked on by Ntege, who was on the floor inside the box, which took it past the Clarets keeper and into the back of the net.
Posh continued to push to further extend their advantage as Dennis Kelmendi’s effort was pushed onto the bar by the keeper before Ntege headed just wide from the edge of the six-yard box ahead of the break.
The visitors looked to cut the deficit in the second half as Rohan Vaughan’s effort hit the side-netting before Kian Le Fondre forced Jake West into a low save just before the hour mark.
Josh Marcon grabbed the fourth goal of the game in injury time as Harley Mills’ cross caused a scramble inside the box and the midfielder was on hand to fire the ball home through a number of bodies.
Professional Development Phase coach, Ryan Semple, took charge of the game in the absence of Jamal Campbell-Ryce and Hugh Alban-Jones and was full of praise for the under 18s performance.
“The players were fantastic throughout the whole game. For the first half an hour, we blew Burnley away with some of the football we played, whether it was the ruthlessness in the final third or being aggressive defensively. The togetherness of this group was there and that has been apparent in this 11-game winning streak.
“It would have been impossible to replicate the opening 15 minutes and keep it going throughout the 90 minutes. Their attitudes were really good, kept probing and dealt with whatever Burnley threw at them. The players that didn’t start the game and came on had a positive contribution and made an impact. I’m delighted for all the players and were rightfully rewarded with three points,” Semple said.
Posh XI: West, Dornelly, Mills, Titchmarsh, Arthur, Rose, Challinor, Marcon, Marshall, Ntege, Kelmendi.
Subs: Laycock, McCann, Winters, Changunda, Unwin.