Toney nets twice as 10-man Peterborough thrash Oxford

Posted Sunday, February 09, 2020 by PA

Peterborough made it five League One wins in a row with an impressive 4-0 victory over rival promotion hopefuls Oxford.

Strikes from Siriki Dembele, a double from the division’s top scorer Ivan Toney and a late fourth from Josh Knight kept Posh hot on the heels of the top two despite having Nathan Thompson sent off.

Dembele put the hosts ahead after 36 minutes, opening his body up and netting from inside the area after being played in by Sammie Szmodics, who assisted with three of the goals.

After missing several chances, Posh deservedly doubled their lead 11 minutes into the second half after a superb break involving five players which ended with Szmodics sliding in a cross from the left and an outstretched Toney stabbing in at the back post.

The hosts were reduced to 10 men in the 63rd minute when Thompson received a second yellow card for tripping Marcus Browne. A fracas ensued in the dugout which saw Oxford kitman Jonny Edmunds booked.

However, Toney put Peterborough further ahead when he netted his 23rd goal of the season in all competitions by poking in a Dan Butler free-kick after 77 minutes.

And six minutes into stoppage time the striker played a sublime cross-field ball to Szmodics who squared it for Knight to calmly finish.