Posh Women U23s claim a 3-1 victory in their final pre-season game.
Peterborough United Women U23s secured a 3-1 win over Thames Valley Women’s League side Newport Pagnell Town Women on Sunday afternoon courtesy of a brace from midfielder Alicia Podd and a curling effort from forward Frankie Pim, with Michael Allesbrook utilising his squad to provide players with more match fitness prior to the league opener next weekend.
The hosts pressurised Posh from the whistle with a deep corner inside the opening minute causing a panic in the box before eventually being cleared away. The Posh Women U23s began to withhold Newport Pagnell’s pressure and created their first chance in the third minute as a poor goal-kick was received by Frankie Pim but her low shot was well saved.
Minutes later, Posh broke the deadlock as Ellie Curson played Pim in space before she fired the ball in the top right corner. Posh doubled their lead in the seventh minute as Alicia Podd spotted the goalkeeper’s poor positioning and drove a low shot into the bottom left corner.
Posh continued to threaten Newport Pagnell and on several occasions broke the offside trap, but the weight of the pass was not always met. On 35 minutes, Taya Smith raced past the left-back before shooting at goal, but the tight angle meant the goalkeeper could easily parry away. The hosts tried their luck from long-range minutes before half time, but it went over the crossbar.
Newport Pagnell started the second half strong and reduced the deficit on 50 minutse as their forward claimed the ball off Phoebe Richards-Reeves before finishing low past substitute Brooke Robinson.
Substitutes Zina Cheikh and Maddison Moore combined just before the hour mark as the former cut the ball to Moore on the edge of the box, but saw her first time effort go well over the crossbar. The hosts continued to seek an equaliser with their forward curling an effort just wide of the far post.
Cheikh’s tantalising footwork was too much for the defence, but her shot was well saved before, Newport Pagnell hit the woodwork on 75 minutes from close range. 60 seconds later, Posh made it 3-1 as a well-delivered corner from Tilly Sands met the unchallenged Podd in the six-yard box and volleyed the ball into the top left corner. Sands had the chance to add a fourth in the last minute of the game as her free-kick was curling into the top right corner, but was saved by the fingertips of the goalkeeper.
Manager, Michael Allesbrook, spoke after the game, “Newport started the game fast and really put the pressure on us in the opening minutes. Sometimes we have to learn not to put ourselves under that pressure by choosing a different option, but the girls reacted really well to that and we grew into the game.
“We played some really nice positive football, especially the way the players created the goals. I thought they might have made it 2-2 as they put the pressure back on us but ultimately we were more clinical with our finishing and extended our lead. It’s a good result to finish pre-season with and we got more minutes into players that haven’t featured regularly recently, which is a bonus.”
Posh XI: Dellar, Richards-Reeves, Goodwin, Hardy, Sands, Curson, Podd, Mears, Bale, Smith, Pim.
Subs Used: Moore, Karagholi, Robinson, Cheikh.
Written by Lauren Shiels.
Photo Credit: Darren Wiles.