1 Win 1 Draw 2 Defeats

Peterborough Tournament – Brief Match Reports – by Terry Oakley
EC1 Tournament
12th March 2023 held at Bushfields Leisure Centre, Peterborough

Peterborough Squad
Tyler Salmon (Goalkeeper)
Anthony Williams (Goalkeeper)
Tom Hillam
Harry Hillam
Luca Oakley
Declan Lander
Lily Messenger
Josh Aaltonen (C)
James Berry

1st Match versus Soham

Although Peterborough took the lead in this game with a goal from Josh Aaltonen, the lead was short lived as Soham hit back with three goals of their own through Luke Donovan and Scott Neville (2).

Peterborough held possession of the ball well but it was the clinical finishing of the Soham players which secured their victory.  Too often the Peterborough players found themselves in goal scoring positions but they snatched at the ball, rather than relaxing in those moments, and the opportunities evaded them.

Full Time Score:- Peterborough 1 Soham 3.

 2nd Match – versus Norwich

At the previous EC1 Tournament held at Beccles on the 5th of March, Norwich snatched a late winner to win 5-4.  However, in this game Peterborough scored first through Luca Oakley and continually pressed the Norwich goal for a second.  However, this was not to be as Curtis Bradfield hit an unstoppable slapshot from the half way line to level the scores at 1-1.

Very similar to the game at Beccles between these two sides, Peterborough had the majority of ball possession but found finishing hard with too many easy chances being missed.

Full Time Score:- Peterborough 1 Norwich 1.

3rd Match – versus Cambridge & Cottenham

 At last Peterborough have beaten their ”bogey team”.  Too often Cambridge and Cottenham have beaten Peterborough in matches throughout this season.  But not on Sunday.  Peterborough came from behind on two occasions with goals from Josh Aaltonen and Declan Lander in response to goals from Connor Adams and Josh Barker.  With the game seeming to end in a draw a melee in front of the Cambridge and Cottenham goal resulted in a ball spinning up into the air and flipping over their goalkeeper.  It was difficult to see who had the last touch whether that be from Josh Aaltonen or an own goal from Josh Barker?  However, more drama was to follow.  With a couple of minutes left on the clock, Ben Allard was fouled in the penalty area and a penalty shot was awarded.  Ben picked himself up to take the penalty but, unfortunately for him, his shot and the rebound were both saved by Tyler Salmon.

Full Time Score:- Peterborough 3 Cambridge & Cottenham 2.

​4th Match – versus Kings Lynn Reds

This looked to be a “match too far” for the Peterborough Team as they all looked tired after their tough Premier game the previous evening and three testing games against previous opponents in this Tournament. 
​Kings Lynn looked comfortable throughout this match.  They took the lead through Josh Futter to make the score 1-0 at half time.  Following the break you could visibly see the tiredness in terms of reduced effort and concentration from the Peterborough players.  Kings Lynn deservedly took control and added further goals from Josh Futter (2) and Harvey Dugdale.

Full Time Score:- Peterborough 0 Kings Lynn Reds 4. 
​
A real “mixed bag” of results for Peterborough.  A win, a draw and two defeats.  Although in most games Peterborough held good possession of the ball they failed to turn that possession into goals.  An aspect of their game that Arthur Corr (the Peterborough Coach) will, I am certain, be working on during their training sessions this coming week.