Peterborough United fell to their first defeat of the season in the first round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday evening. Two goals in the first six minutes gifted the game to their hosts QPR with both goals being set-up by former Posh striker Conor Washington.
The match was a game of two halves…sort of! Posh simply didn’t turn up for the first 45 minutes and quite rightly, the Posh fans weren’t happy with what they saw:
Any half decent champ side could have put 5 past us in opening 20! #pufc
— The Posh Blog (@pufcposhblog) August 15, 2018
QPR look like they might score every time they go forward, which is often at the moment. #pufc
— Alan Swann (@PTAlanSwann) August 14, 2018
I’d rather posh play well in the league than the carabao cup, but still we are playing awful #pufc
— ShAz- (@cheezyturtles) August 14, 2018
Seen us play better. No one really been impressive this first half. Maybe Naismith. Ward & Woodyard very poor #pufc pic.twitter.com/6BM5kraP6U
— James Marriott (@jwm6) August 14, 2018
The second half was much better but by then, the game was virtually over unless Posh could nick a goal. Sadly, although the performance improved in those second 45 minutes, QPR didn’t have to seek another goal, they just had to control the game effectively which they managed to do.
Posh fans were much happier with the second half as they said:
Disappointing result last night for sure but a positive second half display… At least for some it erases the memory of getting dicked at home to Barnet last season #pufc
— Steve Catling ???????????????????????????????????????????????????? (@FORTUNATES0N) August 15, 2018
2nd half was so much better, but realistically it was over after 7 minutes. Let’s forget this quickly and get ready for a massive game on Saturday #pufc
— The Posh Blog (@pufcposhblog) August 14, 2018
So did I! 2nd half we saw just how poor QPR were as well. Long season for them #pufc
— The Posh Blog (@pufcposhblog) August 15, 2018
If you disregard the 2 goal start we gave #QPR, we literally drew 0-0 with a fairly reasonable championship side. Lots of positives to take from that. #pufc
— Ian (@SuperPosh7) August 14, 2018
Were QPR “poor” as The Posh Blog suggest above or did they just manage the situation?
If Posh had managed to get a goal back, and they nearly did on a few occasions, we may have seen a different Rs side but as they managed to keep a clean sheet, they didn’t really have to do anything differently.
The match saw full debuts from Leeds United loanee Tyler Denton, midfielder Callum Cooke and striker Ivan Toney. There was certainly a mixed reaction to the performances from the trio:
Cooke is similar to tomlin, without the ability #pufc
— Rowan (@RowanAbraham) August 14, 2018
Slow start and that lack of composure in front of goal has cost us which has been the opposite in the last two games #pufc
— Peterborough (@14obrien14) August 14, 2018
Abject performance from the Posh. Midfield totally lost. Pace through middle killing CH’s. Toney looks leggy and behind on fitness. #pufc #theposh
— Robert Collins ???????????????????????????? (@poshfan69) August 14, 2018
I’ve only been here for half of the first half and Denton is the worst left back I’ve ever seen, not interested. Neither is Toney. #pufc
— jack???????????????????????????? (@J8MEAD) August 14, 2018
It’s probably unfair to criticise the debutants too much but it also proves the gulf between a poor Championship side and a League One side hoping to win promotion come the end of the season.
Overall, it would’ve given the players an idea what sort of level they need to get to and at this stage of the season, there is a long way to go but as we know, the players are still new to the club and still need time to gel. Let’s just see where we are, come the end, of the year and how we’ve progressed during the first half of the season.
