It was a hottly contested contest between two League 1 promotion hopefuls where Peterborough hosted local rivals MK Dons at London Road.
It was a very even first half with both keepers making one or two top-draw saves. The best chance of the first half fell to MK Dons left-back Dean Lewington. The ball fell to Dean Eight yards from goal and he lifted the half volley high into the London road end. Just before half time young loanee Kenneth McEvoy took an ambitious effort from 20 yards which deflected and looped over hopeless MK Dons goalie David Martin for posh to take in a 1-0 lead at the break.
Just 3 minutes into the second half MK struck back with an equaliser from 18 year old Dalle Alli. Both sides later made subs to try and swing the score line in their favour but it was Peterborough that got the 3rd goal of the game. Fantastic running from new boy Jon Taylor had been causing MK Dons many problems and then on the 81st minute Taylor put the ball across the face of goal for Peterborough substitute striker Kyle Vassell to poke home from very close range.
Taylor was then subbed off for Tyrone Barnett meaning Posh had Three forwards on the field making them vunderable but it was Posh who scored the next goal on the 85th. Kyle Vassell challenged Dons keeper David Martin just inside the keepers box which Vassell one by heading the ball over the stranded shot-stopper and made it 3-1 to the Posh with Five minutes remaining. But Peterborough never make it easy for themselves and so it proved when Substitute Dan Powell poked the ball past Home debutant Ben Alnwick on 87 minutes. 5 minutes of added time wasn’t enough for MK to find another as Posh hung on for a crucial and well deserved 3 points.
4-4-1-1
Alnwick
Smith, Bostwick, Brisley, Nthle
Mendez-Laing, Payne, Anderson, Taylor
McEvoy
Washington
Peterborough United
| Ben Alnwick – Made a few very good saves and kept Peterborough in the game in the first half. Solid home debut, not at fault for either goals. | 7.0 |
| Michael Smith – Solid defensively, rarely gave the ball away and got forward a few times. | 6.5 |
| Michael Bostwick – Tried to pass but often failed, decision making was slow but won a lot defensively | 6.5 |
| Shaun Brisley – 5th Centre back in three games. Won a lot in the air but not convincing with the ball at his feet. | 6.0 |
| Kgosi Nthle – Young lad was confident and quick going forward. Had a good game up against a decent winger mainly first half. | 6.5 |
| Nathaniel Mendez-Laing – best player in the first half. Strong, quick and skilful gave MK Dons nightmares in the first half. Very quiet in the second half. | 6.5 |
| Jack Payne – Small lad is a real fighter. Passing in central midfielder was excellent and really lead his team through a tough battle. One of the games best players. | 7.5 |
| Jermaine Anderson – Young lad is still learning. Didn’t do much wrong but had a quiet second half before being replaced, not bad though. | 6.0 |
| Jon Taylor – great signing for the Posh. Worked his socks off up and down the wing. Got the assist on Posh’s second goal, brilliant home debut | 7.5 |
| Kenneth McEvoy – Young lad struggled to make an impact until he scored with a touch of fortune just before half time. Subbed off at half time due to injury. | 6.0 |
Conor Washington – Up top on his own had a great game. Quick and strong 7.5
upfront giving the MK defenders a tough game. Worked hard and assisted the winner.
Substitutions
| Kane Ferdinand – Played the second 45 as a right sided midfielder. Didn’t really do much good or bad. | 6.0 |
| Kyle Vassell – Came off the bench to score twice with one being the winner. Can’t ask for anything more. Takes his tally up to 3 in the league. | 7.5 |
| Tyrone Barnett – Came on with only 6 minutes of normal time remaining. Made one crucial defensive header in added time. (6.0) | 6.0 |
4-2-3-1
Martin
Hodson, McFadzean, Kay, Lewington
Alli, Potter
Bowditch, Reeves, Green
Grigg
MK Dons
| David Martin – made 1 or 2 decent saves but was at fault for poor judgement on the posh winner. | 6.0 |
| Hodson – Had a tough game up against Jon Taylor but done reasonably well. | 6.0 |
| McFadzean – Also had a tough game up against Posh forward Washington, headed well but got booked. | 6.0 |
| Kay – Good touch for a centre half, defended well. One of the better players for the Dons. | 6.5 |
| Lewington – Received many boos from the posh faithful. Missed a sitter at 0-0. Didn’t do too bad against an on form Mendez-Laing. | 6.0 |
| Alli – Youngster scored the goal to make it 1-1. One of the better MK players with potential, strong too. | 6.5 |
| Potter – very quiet game, didn’t get enough of the ball. Didn’t effect the game. (5.5) | 5.5 |
| Bowditch – caused a few problems going forward, subbed off at 1-1. | 6.0 |
| Reeves – Subbed off after 60 minutes after not really being able to make the impact he wanted. | 6.0 |
| Green – had a good first half giving Nthle a tough start. Very quiet in the second half, didn’t get enough of the ball. | 6.5 |
| Grigg – looked likely to score. Used his strength well along with a good first touch. Also subbed off with 15 minutes of the 90′ time remaining. | 6.5 |
Substitutions
| Afobe – Played 30 minutes, troubled once but didn’t get the chance. | 6.0 |
| Randall – didn’t make an impact when coming on for the last 15 minutes. | 6.0 |
| Powell – came off the bench to score and give MK hope, wasn’t enough in the end. | 6.5 |
