Peterborough United host their first pre-season friendly at London Road as new Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers come to town.
Peterborough United -Vs- Wolverhampton Wanderers
Venue: London Road
Date: 22nd July, 2014
Kick-off: 7:45pm
Posh have been back at pre-season for a few weeks and in that time have had two pre-season friendlies so far, winning them both.
They started out with a 1-0 win against Barnet in a game designed to get rid of any cobwebs and to loosen the legs. Left-back Kgosi Ntlhe scored the only goal of the game in the second half of the match after the entire team, with the exception of goalkeeper Bobby Olejnik, had been changed at half-time.
The second pre-season match came last week during the training camp in Portugal. They came up against S.C. Freamunde and although not knowing a lot about their Portuguese hosts, Posh ran into a 3-0 half-time lead thanks to goals from newcomer Jon Taylor and a brace from Kyle Vassell. Things got a bit tasty in the second half as Freamunde decided to muscle their way back into the match but it was a cock-up by Gaby Zakuani that gifted them their first of two second half goals. Posh restored their three-goal advantage again, this time from the penalty spot and Britt Assombalonga`s boot. The home side also scored a late penalty but the match descended into a bout of handbags at dawn after a 50-50 challenge saw a home player go down like a sack of spuds (not for the first time!).
Two wins out of two in pre-season certainly boosts the confidence but it is all about conditioning the players in readiness for the kick-off against Rochdale in just over two weeks` time.
The match at London Road against Wolves will be an interesting affair as Wolves were promoted as League One Champions last season and they are also unbeaten in pre-season.
Wolves have won three out of three matches so far winning 3-1 twice and 4-1. Cheltenham were the first team to suffer defeat to Wolves, a match which saw former Posh captain Tommy Rowe make his Wolves debut, before Irish sides Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians suffered 4-1 and 3-1 defeats respectively.
One man Posh will have to keep a close eye on is striker Leon Clarke who has notched four goals in those three matches. Wolves signed Clarke from Coventry City in January after a blistering first-half of the season saw him score 18 goals; two of which came in the controversial Boxing Day match against Posh.
Sadly, Tommy Rowe will not be gracing the London Road pitch in his new Wolves kit as he has broken a bone in his foot and will be out of action for a few more weeks.
Last season, Posh and Wolves won their respective home matches against each other. Posh won 1-0 at London Road in November thanks to a Michael Bostwick strike eleven minutes from time but Wolves doubled that scoreline when the teams met at Molineux. Goals from Danny Batth and Dave Edwards eased Wolves to a very comfortable win as Posh put in a pathetic performance.
Both teams will be looking for the win but it will be more important for all the players to come through injury free and with more playing minutes under their belt.
Posh will welcome Craig Mackail-Smith back to London Road on Saturday as they continue their pre-season with a match against Brighton and Hove Albion before completing their pre-season with a Posh XI playing at Daventry Town in the Maunsell Cup next Tuesday and a home match against Charlton Athletic the following day [Wednesday, 30th July].
UP THE POSH
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Photo courtesy of www.theposhpics.com
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