Ferguson furious after ‘awful’ goals gift Fleetwood victory

Darren Ferguson bemoaned three “awful” goals conceded by his new-look backline as Peterborough’s superb opening-day run ended with a 3-1 home defeat by Fleetwood.

Posh had won their last seven opening Sky Bet League One matches at home, but early goals from Harry Souttar and Josh Morris, and a late free-kick from Danny Andrew – all summer signings – sealed the win for Joey Barton’s side.

Striker Ivan Toney, who has been linked with a move to the Championship, had made it 2-1.

Ferguson, who fielded a brand new defence, said: “I’m glad the game is out of the way. Obviously I’m very disappointed with the result. If you’re going to concede goals like that, that’s the sort of result you’re going to have.

“They are awful, all three goals. They could all have been avoided. After that we became quite nervous. We did not have the confidence or bravery to play the way we wanted to play so it was in front of them. Fleetwood did not have to come out.

“In the second half we found a way to get our wide players on the ball higher up the pitch. But when you concede goals like that you do not deserve to win.

“I’m not happy with the way we performed from 2-0 down to half-time. But many times here we have lost the first game and it’s not stopped us being successful. We have to iron things out. We have to be better than that as a team.”

Centre-back Souttar thumped in a back-post header from a Paul Coutts corner after four minutes, before nine minutes later a misjudgement by Mark Beevers allowed Morris to lob Christie Pym from 15 yards out.

Toney volleyed in Marcus Maddison’s 40-yard free kick in the 67th minute, but Andrew’s free-kick in the 81st minute sealed the points, with Pym only able to palm his 30-yard effort into the net.

A delighted Barton said: “The key for us is following that up. We showed the quality we have as a team.

“They have good players and are organised. It’s a very tough place to come, so to get ourselves in a good position early in the game was key.

“We had to absorb periods of pressure, but the lads did that manfully, although we could have defended the wide free-kick better.

“But all in all I’m happy with the performance.

“Set-pieces become very important, so to score from a corner and free-kick, it’s a testament to the coaching staff, analytical department and everyone on the training ground.

“We are always looking to strengthen. For us there are key positions highlighted we need to improve. They have been identified. There should be movement on that, but we’ve still got a bit of time so we’re in no real rush.

“We will only add quality to the group.”