The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Posh win after an instant impact from Ihionvien
Player ratings NICHOLAS BILOKAPIC – 7
One shaky second-half moment when he raced outside his area unnecessarily, but made some good stops when Posh were struggling in the opening stages..
JAMES DORNELLY – 7
Rock solid defensively and linked up well with his winger.
JACK SPARKES – 6
Came close to conceding two penalties, but he’s slowly working himself back to full fitness.
EMMANUEL FERNANDEZ – 7
A commanding defensive display, but still a couple of dodgy moments in possession.
JADEL KATONGO – 7
Strolled through the game at the back. He will surely be a certain starter at centre-back this season?
ARCHIE COLLINS – 8
Industrious and combative as always, but also moved the ball on impressively quickly in this game.
DONAY O’BRIEN-BRADY – 7
Very cool under pressure and used the ball well for the most part.
CHRIS CONN-CLARKE – 9
An outstanding 65 minutes. Set the first goal up and was inventive, busy and dynamic. Disappointing to see him go off.
CIAN HAYES – 6
Worked himself into some decent positions without managing to finish them off.
RICKY-JADE JONES – 7
Took his goal well and could have had another at the end of the first-half.
ABRAHAM ODOH – 6
He’s a tireless runner, but he didn’t show a lot in this game and taken off at the break.
SUBS USED:
Malik Mothersile (for Odoh, 46 mins) 7, Bradley Ihionvien (for Jones, 60 mins), Kwame Poku (for Hayes 60 mins), Joel Randall (for Conn-Clarke, 65 mins), Ollie Rose (for Katongo, 77 mins).
POSH 2
Debutant Bradley Ihionvien stole the show as Posh got their EFL Trophy defence off to a winning start at Gillingham.
The substitute striker, a deadline day signing from Colchester, accepted a short pass from Kwame Poku 25 yards from goal, 15 minutes from time and promptly unleased a rocket of a shot with his left foot that sped into the top corner.
It was decent way for a new man to say hello, but a shame that it came in a low-key contest which attracted a small attendance.
The wonder strike came just after Posh had weathered a mini-storm of pressure as they held onto a lead RickyJade Jones had given them in the 12th minute and it meant a cruise to the final whistle, although a first clean sheet of the campaign was squandered in the final minute when Elliott Nevitt headed home a consolation goal.
A Posh team showing seven changes played poorly early on and were grateful to goalkeeper Nicholas Bilokapic for a couple of decent stops, but out the blue the impressive Chris Conn-Clarke wriggled away and centred for Jones to finish.
Jones had a similar opportunity just before the break which goalkeeper Luca Ashby-Hammond smothered, but Posh were dominant in the second-half.
Malik Mothersille and Cian Hayes shot wide when well placed, before Joel Randall squandered two great chances, both created by Kwame Poku who made a strong impact as a substitute.
Bilokapic almost blotted his copybook 20 minutes from time when racing unnecessarily from his area without winning possession, but luckily for him Josh Gdobe shot wide of an un protected goal from 20 yards.
No-one will remember that error, but all who were present will remember the
impact of Ihionvien.
MATCH FACTS Goals: Posh – Jones (12 mins),
Ihionvien (75 mins). Gills – Nevitt (90 + 3 mins). Posh cautions: Dornelly. Referee: Craig Hicks 6.
Attendance: 1657 (263 Posh)