Posh U21s were forced to settle for a point on their return to Professional Development League action.
Peterborough United U21s were held to a 1-1 draw with Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday afternoon at the Weston Homes Stadium in their first Professional Development League fixture since early November.
Posh made a positive start to the game and carved out the best opportunity on 10 minutes as Ricky-Jade Jones was played through on the left, but saw his lobbed shot go over the crossbar. Minutes later, Posh were on the attack once more as Joel Randall advanced forward, past several defenders, before dragging his shot wide of the post from distance.
Posh were left brewing those chances as the Owls began to grow into the game. Will Lakin was forced into a low save following a close-range effort from Leojo Davidson. The subsequent corner, on 24 minutes, saw the Owls break the deadlock as Cian Flannery headed in from the near post. The Owls should have immediately doubled the lead but Bobby Dunn’s free-kick flashed just wide of the post.
Posh settled down and created chances after the half-hour mark. On 33 minutes, Johnson Gyamfi collected a loose ball on the edge of the area but fired his shot straight at Jack Hall. Posh levelled the scoring on 35 minutes as Jones drove forward and curled his left-footed effort in the top right corner.
Both sides struggled to find their feet in the final third following the restart, but on 50 minutes, Janos Bodnar’s cross was partially cleared, falling kindly to Gyamfi but his shot on the stretch blazed over the crossbar. Posh continued to pile the pressure on the Owls’ defence and minutes should have taken the lead as Randall played Darlington through towards goal, who cut the ball back to Gyamfi, but his shot was directed straight at Hall.
Chances continued to come for both teams with Lakin forced into a finger-tip save before Kai Corbett saw his 35-yard free-kick skim the bar. Darlington had a clear chance to win the game in the final minutes, but his strike shot went well over the bar.
Speaking after the game, Ryan Semple said: “We started the game well and had a lot of the ball without really testing their keeper. However, credit to them, they changed their shape and took our control out of the performance, and then went 1-0 up through a set-piece. For the rest of the first half, it was quite open and we equalised through a well-taken goal from Ricky. Johnson had a great chance on the counter and probably felt he should have done better.
"Then, the second half was a scrappy game with not a lot of quality from either side, but certainly not questioned anyone's work ethic. We still created two very good chances and we had to defend quite a number of set-pieces, which we defended well. We are a little disappointed with the performance, but ultimately, we have come away without losing the game and picked up a point."
Posh XI: Lakin, Bodnar, Powell, McGlinchey, Thomas, Lamb, Gyamfi, Norburn (sub Chiha, 46min), Darlington, Randall, Jones (sub Corbett, 45 min).
Subs Not Used: Tonge, West, Fox.
Written by Lauren Shiels.