The Posh under 21s conceded twice in the first five minutes as they were beaten by Bristol City.
The Peterborough United under 21s were beaten 4-1 by Bristol City in the latest PL Cup fixture with Ryan Semple’s men conceding twice in the opening five minutes to give themselves a mountain to climb against the rampant Robins.
The game, which was played at the home of Deeping Rangers, was effectively over within the first half as the visitors scored twice in quick succession. Striker Pemi Aderoju pulled a goal back with a diving header from a Donay O’Brien-Brady cross, but less than 10 minutes later, the Robins had restored their two-goal cushion.
Five minutes before the interval, goalkeeper Fynn Talley enhanced his excellent penalty-saving record with another fine stop, but the visitors added a fourth in the second half. Head Coach Ryan Semple admitted his side’s start to the game ultimately cost them.
“It is a real frustration. We conceded early against Birmingham and again Wigan before Christmas. It is frustrating because it means you are chasing the game against a good side. We got back into it through a good goal, but you need to then stay in it for a bit and we conceded a third too quickly afterwards.
“We have looked at the goals, they are individual errors, not just one, but two or three. You need other players to help them out of it, but that didn’t happen. For me, we needed to do more with the ball, we needed to be calmer in possession, and for too many periods, that didn’t happen. It is disappointing, but we have to move on from it.
“We have an exciting game against Tottenham to come and then we complete this competition against Sunderland. We were very much in both of those previous games against that opposition, so we want to be competitive and we want to end on a high.
“We know they will be tough games, but this is an opportunity for the players to put on a performance and get something from the match. They are exciting games to be involved in,” Semple said.
Posh: Talley, Rose, Powell, Van Lier, Thomas, O'Connell, Kawa, O'Brien-Brady, Wakeling, Corbett, Aderoju. Subs: Sakalas, Lamb, Titchmarsh, Chiha, McWilliams-Marcano.