‘Outstanding’ – Peterborough United Boss On One Performance Against Gillingham

Peterborough United began their EFL Trophy campaign with a 2-1 victory over Gillingham at Priestfield Stadium on Tuesday night, despite a spirited performance from the hosts.

Peterborough, last season’s Trophy winners, made seven changes to their starting XI from their weekend League One match, opting for a mix of experience and youth. Gillingham, meanwhile, made nine changes, with manager Mark Bonner keen to give minutes to players returning from injury and those needing game time.

Despite a positive start from Gillingham, it was Peterborough who struck first. A swift move down the right saw Chris Conn-Clarke deliver a dangerous cross to the near post, where Jones finished smartly past Fulham loanee Luca Ashby-Hammond.

Gillingham responded well and nearly found an equaliser midway through the first half. Youth player Harry Webster linked up nicely with Joe Gbode, forcing Posh keeper Nicholas Bilokapic into a fine save. Bilokapic was tested again minutes later, this time denying Gbode’s long-range effort.

The second half saw Gillingham continue to press for a goal, with Nevitt and Jack Nolan combining well to create chances early on. However, Peterborough’s defence remained resolute, and Bilokapic kept the hosts at bay.

Peterborough doubled their lead in the 75th minute through a moment of brilliance from Bradley Ihionvien, whose rising 25-yard strike left Ashby-Hammond with no chance.

Gillingham had chances to get back into the game, with Lapslie and Nolan both coming close. Their persistence paid off in stoppage time when Nevitt headed home from Gbode’s cross, but it wasn’t enough to deny Peterborough the win.

After the game, Bradley Ihionvien’s performance had Posh boss Darren Ferguson delighted. The 20-year-old has recently joined from Colchester United, and could now be in for a first Posh start.

“Everything we want from a number nine was delivered by Bradley,” Ferguson said. “Obviously the goal was exceptional, and I’ve seen him score like that before, but he pressed, he was aggressive and he was positive.

“It was a magnificent debut. He was outstanding and didn’t put a foot wrong. He has given himself a chance of playing against Lincoln.”

Ihionvien was an academy product at Colchester, and his only previous experience away from the Essex club came during a loan spell with Maldon & Tiptree in 2020.

Writer’s View

Peterborough got a big boost from this competition last season, and they’re back on the hunt for back-to-back wins. In an ideal world, they wouldn’t be in the competition at all as it’s not open to Championship clubs, but unluckily for them, their trip to Wembley was their only visit to the national stadium last season, as they were defeated (again) in the play-offs.

It’s been a tough start to the current campaign for them with mixed results, so they’ll be delighted to have got a win under their belt against Gillingham. Once again, they also appear to have unearthed a diamond up top, which is one thing they’re consistently good at.

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