Peterborough United accomplish the bare minimum with much-needed second half response

When faced with a side who had just one point and not a single goal to from a player in the squad to their name, there wasn’t going to be a better opportunity for Posh to end their four-match winless run and they duly did so with a 3-0 win over nine-man Cheltenham but that was far from the full story.

It took a much-improved second half showing after what was presumably quite the rocket from Darren Ferguson at half time. In the second half, slow, stodgy football without any direction was traded for an injection of direction and pace that was finally enough to see off visitors devoid of any confidence. Failure to win would have been a new low for Posh this season and that looked a distinct possibility after a first half where they could not have been given more of a helping hand with James Olayinka being dismissed after just four minutes for a shocking challenge.

Harrison Burrows, Jonson Clarke-Harris and Peter Kioso, who opened his club account, scored the goals before 75th minute substitute Nathan Butler-Oyedeji picking up two yellow cards in a minute ultimately turned an initially promising night for the Robins extremely sour.

Any hope of the game being any kind of spectacle was over when Olayinka wildly threw his leg into the air at head height to try and connect with a bouncing ball but caught Ephron-Mason Clark in the side of the head instead. A truly reckless challenge regardless of intent.

The sides were even for a whole 13 minutes while Mason-Clark received treatment in the dressing room but even when he did finally return, it was hard to spot the team with the man advantage such was Posh’s inertia and lack of tempo.

Posh made just the one change from Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Leyton Orient, bringing Joel Randall in place of Ryan De Havilland and subsequently ditching the midfield diamond in favour of the familiar 4-2-3-1. The surprise in selection was Kioso being named captain despite captain and deputy Ephron Mason-Clark and Harrison Burrows both being on the field.

Things looked bright for Posh just two minutes in when Archie Collins drove into the box from deep and saw a goal-bound effort blocked, with the follow up hammered just wide by Harrison Burrows. When the referee showed no hesitation to send Olayinka off before the fourth minute, Posh probably could not believe their luck.

Yet, what followed was one of the most pedestrian and low tempo performances the few that braved the grey conditions would have seen at London Road in a very long time. Ten man Cheltenham would have gone into the break happy to have hardly been tested by a series of slow side-to-side passes and misplaced crosses.

They even came the closest to scoring when they sprung a break from a Posh corner in the 27th minute and Aidan Keena shook Bliokapic’s right-hand post with a vicious 30-yard shot.

Luke Southwood on the home goal was not worried until 50th minute when Posh rattled the post; even then Curtis Davies had tried to head away a Peter Kioso effort but inadvertently directed onto his own post.

That was the start of Posh turning the screw in the game and they found their first just five minutes later when Burros bundled in Southwood’s unconvincing from Poku’s cross. The vice-captain then on the hour-mark produced a great cross right onto the head of Clarke-Harris in the middle of the six-ward box to double the lead.

Both of which likely kept him on the field as Zak Sturge was stripped and ready prior to the Posh opener.

More direct play and a quicker tempo defined the second half as a whole as Posh put their visitors to the sword.

Kyprianou should have made it three in the closing stages when he blazed Clarke-Harris’ cross over when unopposed from just a few yards out but Posh rounded off a 3-0 win in the end with a brilliant effort from Kioso rifled right into the bottom right corner.

Further salt was added to the wounds for Cheltenham with two to play as Butler-Oyedji first lunged in on the edge of the box and then flew into a second tackle less than a minute later to give referee Scott Oldham with no option to dismiss him.

Posh: Nicholas Bilokapic, Harrison Burrows (sub Ricky-Jade Jones), Ronnie Edwards, Josh Knight, Peter Kioso, Archie Collins, Hector Kyprianou, Kwame Poku (sub Jacob Wakeling 78), Joel Randall (sub Zak Sturge 69), Ephron Mason-Clark, Jonson Clarke-Harris

Not used: Fynn Talley, Jadel Katongo, Romoney Crichlow, Ryan De Havilland.

Cheltenham: Luke Southwood, Lewis Freestone, Owen Bevan, Curtis Davies, Liam Sercombe, Luciano D’Auria-Henry (sub Oli Hammond 61), James Olayinka, Elliot Bonds (sub Ben Williams 87), Aidan Keena (sub Nathan Butler-Oyedji 75), Will Ferry (sub Ellis Chapman 87), Jovan Malcolm (sub Rob Street 61)

Not used: Max Harris, Tom Bradbury

Red cards- Butler-Oyedeji 89

Ref: Sam Oldham 7

Att: 5845