A look back at Posh U21s 2022/23 campaign across the Professional Development League and Premier League Cup.
With the 2022/23 Professional Development League season having come to a conclusion earlier this month, we round-up the under 21s campaign from a sixth-place finish in the league to plenty of success for youngsters out on loan.
League round-up
The under 21s kicked off their Professional Development League campaign being held by QPR after a 2-2 draw at the idverde Training Ground. Posh only picked up two points in their opening six games of the season, but secured their first victory over Crewe Alexandra after goals from Joe Taylor, David Ajiboye and Kellan Hickinson.
Posh collected another four points in their next two games after a 1-1 draw with Barnsley before a 3-2 victory over Birmingham City. Following back-to-back losses and a draw, Posh rounded off 2022 with two successive victories over Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough and an emphatic 4-1 win over Burnley.
After an extended festive break due to postponements and the Premier League Cup campaign, the under 21s returned to league action in February and only lost once in four games, including an impressive 5-0 win over Birmingham City with Kai Corbett netting a brace.
Despite failing to win in the following four games, Posh rounded off the season in superb form, being unbeaten in their final four games and winning four of their final six games (one loss and one draw) to help them secure a sixth-place finish - only five points behind second-place Hull City.
A look back at the Premier League Cup
After a hugely successful run in the Premier League Cup in the previous campaign, reaching the quarter-final before being knocked out by Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Weston Homes Stadium, they were looking to repeat that in the upcoming season. Posh welcomed two Category One Academies (Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa) and a Category Two academy (Brentford) into their group.
The under 21s picked up an impressive point in their opening game of the cup campaign after a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa. Posh then suffered back-to-back defeats to Blackburn Rovers and Brentford, falling to a 3-2 loss on both occasions.
A 4-1 victory over Aston Villa at the Weston Homes Stadium put Posh back in contention of progressing out of the group, but a 2-0 defeat to Brentford saw them knocked out of the group.
Despite this, Posh rounded off their Premier League Cup campaign with a 2-1 victory over The Rovers and saw them finish third - three points ahead of Aston Villa.
Top Goalscorer
Forward Kai Corbett finished the season as the under 21s top goalscorer, netting 12 goals in 22 appearances.
He was also a provider for the team, racking up 13 assists throughout the campaign, which saw him pick up the Player of the Season and Players’ Player of the Season for the under 21s in the End of Season Awards in April.
Out on loan
A number of youngsters had loan spells at local non-league sides to gain first-team minutes at senior level. Aaron Powell had a short spell at Dereham Town before joining Welling United at the turn of year, making eight appearances over two months.
Charlie O’Connell had two spells at Vanarama National League side Woking FC in 2023, featuring in 13 games to help The Cards finish inside the play-offs. Fellow defender Emmanuel Fernandez also had a short spell in the National League after joining Barnet FC in March on a loan spell until the end of the season.
The defender also made eight appearances for The Bees, helping them to a fifth-place finish in the table. Full-back Oscar Tonge was part of the Halesowen Town side that secured promotion to the Southern League Central Premier Division, with Tonge making 12 appearances across two spells at the club.