Peterborough United 2
Stevenage 0
Football League Trophy (Southern Group D)

Match report written by Neil Metcalfe, The Comet

Not even divine intervention could prevent Stevenage from falling to defeat away to Peterborough United for the second time in four days.

It had rained for most of the game at London Road but a heavy downpour midway through the second half brought the game to the verge of abandonment.

The referee allowed time for remedial work to fix the worst of the puddles, mostly on the far side to the main stand, and play eventually restarted after a 38-minute delay.

Posh were leading 2-0 at that time thanks to goals from Malik Mothersille and Jack Sparkes and that was the way it finished, backing up their 2-1 victory in League One on Saturday.

But while the weather will take the headlines, this was a limp performance from Stevenage who still looked well off the pace in the final third.

In total there were eight changes from the league meeting, the trio keeping their place being Dan Butler, Carl Piergianni and Jake Young.

Half of them were forced on Stevenage manager Alex Revell.

Nathan Thompson's injury, picked up after 10 minutes at the weekend, has put him on the shelf while Eli King and Jamie Reid were both away on international duty.

Luther Wildin should have been but because he turned that down, he was unable to play here.

One was expected though, Taye Ashby-Hammond getting his first start of the season after returning from injury, replacing Murphy Cooper who dropped out altogether, Dean Bouzanis coming onto the bench.

The others saw Jordan Roberts, Dan Phillips and Louis Thompson come out.

The seven outfield players brought in were Nick Freeman, Dan Kemp, Kane Smith, Lewis Freestone, Tyreece Simpson, Harvey White and Ken Aboh.

Peterborough on the other hand made six alterations.

The changes as well as the lack of a game on Saturday meant players could go out and put every inch of effort in, stake a claim for a shirt when everyone reconvenes in 10 days at Mansfield.

The first half suggested the opposite, that many who were playing would be nowhere near the starting line-up at Field Mill.

It was pretty enough at times from Boro, some lovely passages of play that moved the ball around and created chances to shoot, or at the very least cross into the danger zone.

They did have seven shots with three on target according to the official stats but the truth of the matter was they looked toothless.

Freeman had the first real opportunity but a poor first touch meant he had to rush and toe-poke his shot, the ball skidding off the very wet surface and being gathered by Nicholas Bilokapic at the second attempt.

Young then never caught the ball well enough as he got in behind momentarily, the ball taking a touch off a defender and squelching and slithering its way wide of the far post.

Simpson had the best chance but incredibly, without a Blue shirt near him as Butler's cross was skimmed in low, he swung and barely connected.

To compound that, in his haste to put things right, he got in the way of Adoh who never hit the loose ball well enough, the shot deflected over the top.

Too many times there was some good deliveries into the middle but the second ball invariably ended up at the foot of a Peterborough defender, as the Stevenage players merely looked on.

And in contrast when the ball went up to the other end, which it often did at pace, Posh punished any hint of sloppiness.

They only had two shots on target and both went in.

The first, a free-kick on the left put in by Sparkes glanced off a head in the middle and ran to the unmarked Mothersille at the the back post for a simple header.

The second was on the break. It was moved to the left where Sparkes had charged forward.

Smith stood off him and showed him the outside, so Sparkes took it and fired low across Ashby-Hammond into the far side of the net.

The rain had picked up again as Boro emerged for the second half with thoughts being when would the boss look to the youngsters.

By the time he did, Ryan Doherty coming on for his debut, the heavens had opened and been closed again.

Boro had offered little up until the rain break, other than a Simpson charge down of a Bilokapic clearance that went wide, and while they try to pass through the puddles, it appeared they would offer little after the break either.

Lenny Brown also came on for his debut, replacing the injured Ken Aboh, and there was another sighting of Makise Evans, but there never felt like being a remarkable turnaround.